After Mundialito who would care for Africa? The season left bare mark of itself. It was pretty much the same as ever – clubs abandoning tournaments. Eight teams left the Cup Winners Cup. The most dramatic games involved Stationery Stores (Nigeria): three matches were not enough against Al-Ahly (Benghazi, Lybia) in the first round. Stationery Stores prevailed only after penalty shoot-out. The same happened again in the 1/8 finals – this time against CAPS United (Zimbabwe). Curiously, the next rounds were easy sailing and Stationery Stores did not lose a match until the final. The other finalist was Union (Douala, Cameroon). Union had no troubles whatsoever until the semi-finals, where they lost their away match to Secondi Hasaacas (Ghana) 2-3. But the Cameroonians won 2-1 at home and thanks to more away goals qualified to the final. It was two-legged as usual, the first match in Douala. It ended 0-0, giving advantage to Stationery Stores. However, at home they lost 1-2.
Stationery Stores came close to winning the cup – a good testimony of the rising Nigerian football, but at the end they lost. Not ready for success yet.
Union Douala was not a surprise winner – Cameroonian teams dominated the late 1970s. Union itself was no stranger to continental victories: in 1979 they won the African Champions Cup.