The schedule for the tournament was released in October 2011,[1] and the draw for the first three rounds was held in Cairo on 9 December 2011.[2]
Qualification ties were decided over two legs, with aggregate goals used to determine the winner. 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 shootout (no extra time was played).[3]
Preliminary round
This was a knock-out stage of the 32 teams that did not receive byes to the first round.
First legs: 17–19 February; Second legs: 2–4 March.
This was a knock-out stage of 16 teams: the eight teams that advanced from the second round, and the eight teams that were eliminated in the CAF Champions League second round.[3] In each tie, a winner from the Confederation Cup second round played against a loser from the Champions League second round, with the Confederation Cup winner hosting the second leg at home. Winners advanced to the group stage.
The draw for the play-off round and group stage was held on 15 May 2012, 14:00 UTC+02:00, at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo.[7] For the play-off round draw, two teams were seeded (using their individual 2007–2011 5-Year team Ranking).[8][9]
