The 1978 season of the African Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Canon Yaoundé in two-legged final victory against Gor Mahia. This was the fifth season that the tournament took place for the winners of each African country's domestic cup. Twenty-eight sides entered the competition, with USCA Bangui, Al Ittihad El Iskandary, Al Nil Wad Medani withdrawing before 1st leg of the first round. No preliminary round took place during this season of the competition.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April - 9 December 1979 |
| Teams | 28 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Canon Yaoundé (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Gor Mahia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 48 |
| Goals scored | 124 (2.58 per match) |
← 1978 1980 → | |
First round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Nasr (Benghazi) 
|
w/o |  TP USCA Bangui
|
— | — |
Bendel Insurance F.C. 
|
6-1 |  Petrosport FC
|
1-0 | 5-1 |
Espoirs 
|
1-1 (4-5 p) |  Wallidan F.C.
|
1-0 | 0-1 |
SC Gagnoa 
|
4-1 |  Cedar United
|
3-1 | 1-0 |
| Gor Mahia
|
w/o |  Al Ittihad Alexandria
|
— | — |
Kadiogo FC 
|
1-1 (4-2 p) |  Asante Kotoko
|
1-0 | 0-1 |
Maseru United 
|
6-6 (a) |  Notwane FC
|
2-1 | 4-5 |
CD Maxaquene 
|
0-4 |  AS Sotema
|
0-3 | 0-1 |
Nsambya FC 
|
w/o |  Al Neel SC
|
— | — |
Pan African FC 
|
1-1 (5-4 p) |  Omedla
|
1-0 | 0-1 |
Deportivo Mongomo 
|
2-8 | Canon Yaoundé
|
1-3 | 1-5 |
Internacional 
|
2-3 |  Bai Bureh Warriors
|
1-1 | 1-2 |
CM Belcourt 
|
bye | |||
Horoya AC 
|
bye | |||
Requins de l'Atlantique FC 
|
bye | |||
AS Vita Club 
|
bye |
Second round
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bai Bureh Warriors
|
0-4 | Horoya AC
|
0-1 | 0-3 |
| Bendel Insurance F.C.
|
2-0 | SC Gagnoa
|
1-0 | 1-0 |
| CM Belcourt
|
5-2 | Al-Nasr (Benghazi)
|
4-2 | 1-0 |
| Gor Mahia
|
1-1 (a) | Nsambya FC
|
0-0 | 1-1 |
| Kadiogo FC
|
4-2 | Requins de l'Atlantique FC
|
3-1 | 1-1 |
| Maseru United
|
1-5 | AS Sotema
|
0-1 | 1-4 |
| Pan African FC
|
2-2 (a) | AS Vita Club
|
2-1 | 0-1 |
| Wallidan F.C.
|
1-3 | Canon Yaoundé
|
1-2 | 0-1 |
Quarterfinals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS Sotema
|
2-2 (3-5 p) | Bendel Insurance F.C.
|
2-0 | 0-2 |
| CM Belcourt
|
1-6 | Horoya AC
|
0-3 | 1-3 |
| Kadiogo FC
|
2-4 | Gor Mahia
|
1-2 | 1-2 |
| AS Vita Club
|
4-7 | Canon Yaoundé
|
3-1 | 1-6 |
Semifinals
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon Yaoundé
|
1-0 | Bendel Insurance F.C.
|
1-0 | 0-0 |
| Gor Mahia
|
3-0 | Horoya AC
|
1-0 | 2-0 |
Final
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gor Mahia
|
0-8 | Canon Yaoundé
|
0-2 | 0-6 |
| African Cup Winners' Cup Winners |
|---|
 Canon Yaoundé First title |