1997 African Cup Winners' Cup
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.