The 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup qualifying rounds were played from 10 September to 6 February 2022.[1] A total of 51 teams competed in the qualifying rounds to decide the 16 places in the group stage of the 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup.
The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 13 August 2021 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[2][3][4]
The entry round of the 51 teams entered into the draw was determined by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses).[5]
In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still tied, extra time won't be played, and the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).
^ abMatches involving Guinean clubs were played over a single leg in their opponent's country due to the political and security situation in Guinea following a coup d'état.[6]
^The first leg was originally scheduled to be played on 12 September 2021 at El-Obeid Stadium, El-Obeid, but was cancelled due to concerns over the suitability of the venue.[7] The match was played over a single leg at the venue for the second leg.
The play-off round, also called the additional second preliminary round, includes 32 teams: the 16 winners of the Confederation Cup second round, and the 16 losers of the Champions League second round.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 26 October 2021, 11:00 GMT (13:00 local time, UTC 2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[12][13]
The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses):
Pot A contained the 4 seeded losers of the Champions League first round.
Pot B contained the 4 unseeded winners of the Confederation Cup first round.
Pot C contained the 12 unseeded losers of the Champions League first round.
Pot D contained the 12 seeded winners of the Confederation Cup first round.
^The preliminary round match between Diambars FC and Wakriya AC was played over a single leg, and not in the Guinean territory due to the political and security situation in Guinea following the 2021 Guinean coup d'état.[6]
^Teams from Somalia played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF regulations.[8]
^ abTeams from Burkina Faso played their home matches outside the country, since none of the stadiums met the quality standards set according to the CAF regulations.[8]
^The first leg of the Al Ahli v Hay Al-Wadi tie, originally scheduled to be played on 12 September 2021 at El-Obeid Stadium, El-Obeid, was called off due to concerns over the suitability of match venue.[7] The match was then played over a single leg, at the venue initially planned for the second leg.
^The first leg of the Al Ittihad v Enyimba tie, originally scheduled to be played on 28 November 2021 at Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia, was postponed to 19 December at Benina Martyrs Stadium, Benghazi because the Tunisian authorities refused to enter the Nigerian team without receiving the second dose of the Coronavirus vaccine, the match was supposed be played after the second leg.
^The second leg of the JS Kabylie v Royal Leopards tie, originally scheduled to be played on 5 December 2021 at 1 November 1954 Stadium, Tizi Ouzou, was postponed to 20 December at Omar Hamadi Stadium, Algiers then to 26 January and 27 January 2022 later at the previous location due to the Algerian authorities fears of the spread of COVID-19 Omicron variant in South Africa. Later the match was again postponed to 6 February 2022, as Royal Leopards were stuck in Cairo and could not connect to Turkey for their flight to Algiers due to storms.[16]