(AllAfrica) Created in 2004, the Orange Confederation Cup is the most recent of clubs competition in Africa. It was born of the combination of the Cup Winners Cup and the CAF Cup.
CAF’s aim was to reduce the competitions from three to two and assure more competitiveness and exposure. It was modeled after the Champions League with the introduction of a group stage. Initially, like the case with the previous competition in 1997, the leader of each group qualified directly for the final, while the semi-final stage was introduced in 2009.
The tournament has been dominated by North African teams and mainly Tunisian sides with three victories and Moroccan teams with two victories. However, Hearts of Oak of Accra was the first laureate as well as Stade Malien and FUS of Rabat, which were unknowns.
Things will go the same way for the 2011 edition, considering that Club Africain of Tunisia as well as Moghren of Fes are once again in the final of the competition. Unlike MAS of Fes, Club Africain took part this year in the first rounds of the Champions League in which it was eliminated at the eighth final by El Hilal of Sudan. The team also picked its qualification ticket for the Confederation Cup following play off against Kenyan side, Sofapaka.
It will be the third time a Tunisian and a Moroccan clubs are meeting in the final of the Confederation Cup. Etoile of Sahel had beaten FAR of Rabat in 2006, but FUS of Rabat took revenge in 2010, beating CS Sfaxien, two times champion of the competition.
Who will have the say in this edition? The return leg final on December 4 in Fes will tell.
Champions
2004 Hearts of Oak (Ghana)
2005 FAR Rabat (Morocco)
2007 CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
2006 Etoile of Sahel (Tunisia)
2008 CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
2009 Stade Malien (Mali)
2010 FUS Rabat (Morocco)
Finals
2004 Hearts of Oak (Gha)- Ashanti Kotoko (Gha) 1-1 1-1 (7-8p)
2005 Dolphin FC (Nga)- FAR Rabat (Mor) 1-0 0-3
2006 FAR Rabat (Mor)- Etoile of Sahel (Tun) 1-1 0-0
2007 El Merreikh (Sud)- CS Sfaxien (Tun) 2-4 0-1
2008 CS Sfaxien (Tun)- Etoile of Sahel (Tun) 0-0 2-2
2009 ES Sétif (Alg)- Stade Malien (Mli) 2-0 0-2 (2-3p)
2010 FUS Rabat (Mor)- CS Sfaxien (Tun) 0-0 3-2
