In the new format, the league champions of the respective CAF member countries went through a series of preliminary rounds until a last 16 stage. The 8 winners of this round were then drawn into two mini-leagues of 4 teams each, with each team playing each other on a home and away basis. At the end of the league stage, the top two teams in each group meet in the semifinals, with the winners going through to contest the finals. In 2017, the group phase was expanded from 8 to 16 teams and the mini-leagues from 2 to 4 and the addition of one extra knock-out round.