2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup qualifying rounds

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The 2020–21 CAF Confederation Cup qualifying rounds ran from 27 November 2020 to 21 February 2021. A total of 67 teams competed for 16 places in the competition’s group stage.

Draw and format
- The qualifying draw took place on 9 November 2020 at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
- Teams were seeded using CAF’s five-year ranking points.
- Each tie is played over two legs (home and away). If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule applies. If still tied, there is no extra time; the winner is decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Rounds
- Preliminary round (first preliminary round): 38 teams started here.
- First round (second preliminary round): 32 teams contested this round (the 19 winners from the preliminary round plus 13 teams given byes).
- Play-off round (additional second preliminary round): 32 teams again, made up of the 16 winners of the Confederation Cup first round and 16 losers from the Champions League first round.
- The 16 winners of the play-off round would advance to the group stage, joining RS Berkane, who advanced directly to the group stage after Gazelle withdrew from the competition following a transfer from the Champions League.

Notable events
- Several ties were decided by walkovers or disqualifications, including Renaissance being disqualified in one tie, Sagrada Esperança withdrawing, and Al Rabita being disqualified, which affected results in other matchups.
- Some ties were decided by penalties or away goals when aggregate scores were level.

Play-off round results and group-stage qualification
- The play-off round produced 15 winners who moved to the group stage, joining RS Berkane (which had already qualified for the group stage).
- Notable teams advancing to the group stage include Enyimba, Namungo, ASC Jaraaf, CS Sfaxien, Raja Casablanca, Nkana, NAPSA Stars, Salitas, ES Sétif, Étoile du Sahel, Coton Sport, Al Ahly Benghazi, JS Kabylie, Pyramids, and Orlando Pirates.

In summary, 67 teams competed for 16 group-stage spots, with a three-round qualifying path that included several withdrawals and walkovers before the group stage began.