Remo Stars draw US Zilimadjou in CAF Champions League Preliminary Round, potential Mamelodi Sundowns clash awaits

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has conducted the draw for the 2025/26 CAF Champions League preliminary round, handing Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions Remo Stars a challenging path to the group stage.

The Sky Blue Stars will face US Zilimadjou of Comoros in the first preliminary round.

The winner of the two-legged tie will advance to play Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the second preliminary round, with a group stage berth at stake.

Head coach Daniel Ogunmodede will be aiming to guide Remo Stars beyond the preliminary rounds for the first time, following exits in the past two seasons against Medeama SC (Ghana) and AS FAR FC (Morocco).

Meanwhile, Rivers United, Nigeria’s second representative and CAF’s highest-ranked Nigerian club, will meet the Democratic Republic of Congo champions in their opening tie.

Victory would set up a second-round meeting with the winner between AC Leopards (Congo) and Black Bulls (Mozambique.

Oluwaseun Oyediji

Oluwaseun Babatunde Oyediji is a multi-media sports journalist with over 10 years experience in Information Communication Technology (ICT), women's football, and beach soccer reportage.The prolific writer is the Media Assistant to Nigeria Beach Soccer League and Africa Beach Soccer Union as well as contributor on Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) website.He has covered multiple national and international football tournaments including Championship of African Nations (CHAN 2020), CAF Women's Champions League (2023), and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023).Since 2021, Oyediji has covered the NWFL Premiership especially the season ending Super Six Playoffs.A member of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ogun state chapter is also the image maker of the Remo Sports Development Council under the leadership of Chief Falilat Ogunkoya and David Osuolale.

See Full Bio