All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to their CAF 5-Year Ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. The title holders could also enter if they had not already qualified for the CAF Champions League. As a result, theoretically a maximum of 69 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached. For the 2013 CAF Champions League, the CAF used the 2007–2011 CAF 5-Year Ranking, which calculated points for each association based on their clubs’ performance over those 5 years in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. The criteria for points were the following:
The points were multiplied by a coefficient according to the year as follows:
2011 – 5
2010 – 4
2009 – 3
2008 – 2
2007 – 1
Teams
The following teams entered the competition. Teams in bold received a bye to the [|first round]. The other teams entered the [|preliminary round]. Associations are shown according to their 2007–2011 CAF 5-Year Ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated. ;Notes The following associations did not enter a team: Cape Verde, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, South Sudan.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the preliminary, first and second qualifying rounds was held on 9 December 2012, and the fixtures were announced by the CAF on 10 December 2012. Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out.
Preliminary round
First round
Second round
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 14 May 2013. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the [|semi-finals]. ;Tiebreakers The teams are ranked according to points. If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned
Goal difference in games between the teams concerned
Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned
were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out.
Bracket
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the group A winners played the group B runners-up, and the group B winners played the group A runners-up, with the group winners hosting the second leg.
Final
In the final, the order of legs was decided by a draw.
