CAF Champions League 2026-27 draw: Sundowns, Esperance and RS Berkane seeded

African clubs will discover their opponents in the preliminary round of the 2026-27 CAF Champions League on Thursday, with the draw taking place at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 15:00 Cairo and Mecca time and will be broadcast live on CAF’s official YouTube channel.

A total of 61 clubs are involved in the competition, which is the 63rd edition of the CAF Champions League. The winners will receive a prize of $6m, while every club eliminated during the preliminary rounds will be awarded $100,000 as part of CAF’s policy to increase investment in its club competitions and improve the level of continental football.

Mamelodi Sundowns are the defending champions after beating Morocco’s AS FAR in last season’s final.

Top three clubs enter in second preliminary round

CAF has exempted the three highest-ranked participating clubs from the first preliminary round: Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, Esperance Sportive de Tunis and Morocco’s RS Berkane.

Those clubs will form the first seeding pot and will begin their campaigns in the second preliminary round, also known as the last-32 stage. They will face unseeded opponents and will have the advantage of playing the decisive second leg at home.

The remaining 58 clubs will contest 29 two-legged ties in the first preliminary round. The winners will join the three exempted sides in the second round.

The second seeding pot consists of 10 clubs: Zamalek and Pyramids FC of Egypt, Petro Atletico of Angola, Orlando Pirates of South Africa, Simba SC and Young Africans of Tanzania, Al Hilal of Sudan, ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, Stade Malien and MC Alger.

These clubs will face unseeded teams in the opening round. If they progress, they will meet another unseeded side in the second preliminary round.

The third pot contains six seeded clubs and the fourth comprises the six lowest-ranked seeded teams. The draw will pair clubs from those two pots in the first round, with the winners meeting in the following round. The fifth pot contains 36 unseeded clubs, which will be drawn against higher-ranked teams across the two preliminary rounds.

To reduce travel demands and fatigue, CAF has grouped the clubs into five pots based largely on geographical proximity.

In a tie between a seeded and an unseeded club in the first preliminary round, the unseeded side will host the first leg. In other cases, the club drawn first will stage the opening match unless the regulations state otherwise.

Teams from the same country cannot meet in these rounds. If two clubs from the same nation are drawn together, the second team selected will automatically be moved to the next available tie and a replacement club will be drawn to face the first team.

Clubs involved

The participating clubs listed for the opening round are:

– Angola: Petro Atletico, Wiliete; Egypt: Zamalek, Pyramids FC; Morocco: Maghreb de Fes, RS Berkane; Algeria: MC Alger, JS Saoura.
– South Africa: Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns; Tanzania: Young Africans, Simba SC; Tunisia: Club Africain, Esperance Sportive de Tunis.
– Democratic Republic of the Congo: TP Mazembe, Aligle du Congo; Sudan: Al Hilal, Al Merrikh; Mali: Djoliba, Stade Malien.
– Ivory Coast: ASEC Mimosas, San Pedro; Nigeria: Rangers International, Rivers United; Libya: Al-Swehly.
– Republic of the Congo: AC Leopards; Zambia: Power Dynamos; Ghana: Medeama; Guinea: Horoya.
– Botswana: Gaborone United; Mauritania: FC Nouadhibou; Senegal: Teungueth; Kenya: Gor Mahia.
– Cameroon: Colombe Sportive; Mozambique: UD Songo; Togo: ASKO; Uganda: Vipers.
– Eswatini: Nsingizini Hotspurs; Niger: AS Nigelec; Benin: AS Sobemap; Burundi: Aigle Noir.
– Burkina Faso: Rahimo; Central African Republic: Olympic Real de Bangui; Chad: Foullah Edifice; Comoros: Elgeco Plus.
– Djibouti: AS Port; Ethiopia: Sidama Bunna; Gabon: Mangasport; Gambia: Medina United.
– Lesotho: Lioli; Liberia: Watanga; Madagascar: CFFA; Malawi: Mighty Wanderers.
– Mauritius: La Cure Waves; Namibia: African Stars; Rwanda: APR FC; Seychelles: Forsters FC.
– South Sudan: Al Merrikh Bentiu; Zanzibar: KVZ FC; Zimbabwe: Scotland FC.

The draw also includes an opening-round tie between Angola’s Wiliete and Forsters FC, with the winner set to face Mamelodi Sundowns.

Schedule

The first preliminary-round first legs will be played from 4 to 6 September 2026, with the return matches scheduled for 11 to 13 September.

Second-round first legs will take place from 16 to 18 October, followed by the second legs from 23 to 25 October.

The group-stage schedule is:

– Matchday one: 27-29 November 2026
– Matchday two: 4-6 December 2026
– Matchday three: 18-20 December 2026
– Matchday four: 8-10 January 2027
– Matchday five: 15-17 January 2027
– Matchday six: 22-24 January 2027

The quarter-final first legs are scheduled for 26-28 February 2027, with the second legs from 5-7 March.

The semi-final first legs will be played between 9 and 11 April, and the return matches between 16 and 18 April.

The final is due to be held between 9 and 31 May 2027, although the exact dates of the two final matches have not yet been confirmed.