English Premier League
CAF Confederation Cup draw: Al Ahly, Raja CA and AS FAR given favourable routes
Al Ahly, Raja CA and AS FAR have been handed seemingly favourable ties in the preliminary rounds of the 2026-27 CAF Confederation Cup after the draw was conducted at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo on Thursday.
The competition will feature 56 clubs. The eight highest-ranked sides have been exempted from the first preliminary round and will enter in the second round.
The remaining 48 teams will contest 24 two-legged ties in the opening round. The winners will join the eight exempted clubs to form a 32-team second-round field.
The exempted clubs are Al Ahly of Egypt, Azam FC of Tanzania, USM Alger and CR Belouizdad of Algeria, Raja CA and AS FAR of Morocco, Maniema Union of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa.
Al Ahly, the most successful club in African football, will begin their campaign against the winner of the tie between Somalia’s Mogadishu City and Uganda’s Kitara FC.
Raja CA will face the winner of El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria and Benin’s Ayema FC, while AS FAR will meet the victor between Chad’s AS PSI and Cote d’Ivoire’s CO Korhogo.
USM Alger have been drawn against the winner of Ethiopia’s Panthers and Benin’s ASPAC, with CR Belouizdad awaiting the side that progresses from the tie between Burkina Faso’s AS Douanes and Hafia FC of Guinea.
Azam FC will play either Zamalek-owned Egyptian side ZED FC or Djibouti’s Telecom Djibouti. The winner of Sudan’s Al Hilal Al Sahel and Ethiopia’s Wello Adigrat will face the winner of KMKM of Zanzibar and Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya.
The first-round ties are scheduled to be played over two legs, with the first matches taking place from 4 to 6 September 2026 and the return fixtures from 11 to 13 September.
Second-round first legs will be played from 16 to 18 October, followed by the return matches from 23 to 25 October.
First preliminary round draw
– Mogadishu City (Somalia) v Kitara FC (Uganda)
– ZED FC (Egypt) v Telecom Djibouti
– Al Hilal Al Sahel (Sudan) v Wello Adigrat (Ethiopia)
– KMKM (Zanzibar) v Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya)
– Al Ahli Madani (Sudan) v Tusker (Kenya)
– Al-Ghazala Wau (South Sudan) v Singida Black Stars (Tanzania)
– Panthers (Ethiopia) v ASPAC (Benin)
– AS PSI (Chad) v CO Korhogo (Cote d’Ivoire)
– AS Douanes (Burkina Faso) v Hafia FC (Guinea)
– El Kanemi Warriors (Nigeria) v Ayema FC (Benin)
– FC Amadou Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire) v East End Lions (Sierra Leone)
– Shooting Stars (Nigeria) v CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
– Stade Gabesien (Tunisia) v Diambars (Senegal)
– Vitesse (Burkina Faso) v Real Bamako (Mali)
– Djoliba AC (Mali) v Nations FC (Ghana)
– AS ZAM (Niger) v ASKO de Kara (Togo)
– University of Namibia (UNAM) v Kabuscorp do Palanca (Angola)
– Red Arrows (Zambia) v FC Rouge (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
– Durban City (South Africa) v Rukinzo (Burundi)
– Pamplemousses SC, listed in the draw as Port Louis 2000 (Mauritius), v Jwaneng Galaxy (Botswana)
– Panther Sportif (Central African Republic) v Rayon Sports (Rwanda)
– Atomic de Niger v Black Bulls (Mozambique)
– DC Virunga (Democratic Republic of the Congo) v Bazar Brothers (Seychelles)
– Green Mamba (Eswatini) v 1o de Agosto (Angola)
Second preliminary round draw
– Winner of Mogadishu City v Kitara FC v Al Ahly
– Winner of ZED FC v Telecom Djibouti v Azam FC
– Winner of Al Hilal Al Sahel v Wello Adigrat v winner of KMKM v Al Ahli Tripoli
– Winner of Al Ahli Madani v Tusker v winner of Al-Ghazala Wau v Singida Black Stars
– Winner of Panthers v ASPAC v USM Alger
– Winner of AS PSI v CO Korhogo v AS FAR
– Winner of AS Douanes v Hafia FC v CR Belouizdad
– Winner of El Kanemi Warriors v Ayema FC v Raja CA
– Winner of FC Amadou Diallo v East End Lions v winner of Shooting Stars v CS Sfaxien
– Winner of Stade Gabesien v Diambars v winner of Vitesse v Real Bamako
– Winner of Djoliba AC v Nations FC v winner of AS ZAM v ASKO de Kara
– Winner of UNAM v Kabuscorp do Palanca v Maniema Union
– Winner of Red Arrows v FC Rouge v Kaizer Chiefs
– Winner of Durban City v Rukinzo v winner of Port Louis 2000 v Jwaneng Galaxy
– Winner of Panther Sportif v Rayon Sports v winner of Atomic de Niger v Black Bulls
– Winner of DC Virunga v Bazar Brothers v winner of Green Mamba v 1o de Agosto
USM Alger are the holders after beating Zamalek on penalties in last season’s final.
The winners of the CAF Confederation Cup will receive $4m. Every club eliminated during the preliminary rounds will receive a solidarity payment of $100,000 under CAF’s financial support policy for participating clubs.
The group stage is scheduled to begin from 27 to 29 November 2026, with further rounds from 4 to 6 December, 18 to 20 December, 8 to 10 January 2027, 15 to 17 January and 22 to 24 January.
Quarter-final first legs will take place from 26 to 28 February 2027, with the second legs from 5 to 7 March. The semi-final first legs are scheduled for 9 to 11 April and the return fixtures for 16 to 18 April.
The final will be played between 9 and 31 May 2027, although the specific date has not yet been confirmed.
