The 1997 African Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Étoile Sportive du Sahel in two-legged final victory against FAR Rabat. This was the twenty-third season that the tournament took place for the winners of each African country's domestic cup. Forty-one sides entered the competition. Teams from Niger and the Central African Republic were disqualified because their federations were in debt to CAF. Club 'S' Namakia from Madagascar withdrew before the 1st leg of the preliminary round, Maxaquene from Mozambique withdrew before the 1st leg of the first round while Racing Bafoussam from Cameroon was disqualified for not showing up in time for the 1st leg. The last team to withdraw from the competition was Dragons from Zaire before the 1st leg of the second round.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | February – 6 December 1997 |
| Teams | 41 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  ES Sahel (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  FAR Rabat |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 66 |
| Goals scored | 173 (2.62 per match) |
Jomo Cosmos replaced Orlando Pirates, who were admitted to the Champions League for being the champions of both the league and cup competitions in South Africa.
Preliminary round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bata Bullets |
2–2 (a) | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Awassa Flour Mill |
0–5 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| MP Tigers |
1–1 (a) | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Lerotholi Polytechnic |
2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Club S Namakia |
w/o | — | — | |
| Renaissance FC |
7–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | |
| Sigara SC |
1–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | |
| UNB FC |
dq1 | — | — | |
| Étoile Filante |
dq1 | — | — |
- Notes
- 1 Sahel SC and Central African Republic representative club disqualified because their federations were in debt to CAF.
First round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Merreikh |
0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | |
| UNB FC |
0–6 | 0–3 | 0–3 | |
| Scouts Club |
3–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | |
| Red Star FC |
w/o | — | — | |
| Eleven Men in Flight |
0–6 | 0–3 | 0–3 | |
| Bata Bullets |
0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Mumias Sugar FC |
0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| Lerotholi Polytechnic |
0–6 | 0–1 | 0–5 | |
| FAR Rabat |
4–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | |
| FC 105 Libreville |
2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Étoile Filante |
3–4 | 3–0 | 0–4 | |
| ASFAG |
0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| US Gorée |
2–4 | 1–0 | 1–4 | |
| Renaissance FC |
3–7 | 2–1 | 1–6 | |
| Vita Club Mokanda |
1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
| Uganda Electricity Board |
dq1 | — | — |
- Notes
- 1 RC Bafoussam were disqualified for not showing up in time for the 1st leg.
Second round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Berger |
0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| Red Star FC |
0–5 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| Dynamos FC |
2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Nchanga Rangers |
2–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | |
| FC 105 Libreville |
2–2 (3–4 p) | 2–0 | 0–2 | |
| Hearts of Oak |
3–6 | 2–2 | 1–4 | |
| Umeme FC1 |
2–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | |
| SO Armée |
w/o | — | — |
- Notes
- 1 Uganda Electricity Board FC changed it name to Umeme FC.
Quarter-finals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Mansoura SC |
5–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | |
| El Mokawloon |
2–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | |
| SS Saint-Louisienne |
3–3 (a) | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| FAR Rabat |
3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
Semi-finals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES Sahel |
5–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | |
| FAR Rabat |
5–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 |
Final
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES Sahel |
2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
First leg
edit| ES Sahel | 2 – 0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mhedhebi Ben Younes |
Second leg
editChampions
edit| 1997 African Cup Winners' Cup Winners |
|---|
ES Sahel First title |