The eight highest-ranked clubs in the CAF Confederation Cup have been handed routes into the second preliminary round after the draw for the 2026-27 competition was held at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo on Thursday.
Al Ahly, Azam FC, USM Alger, CR Belouizdad, Raja CA, AS FAR, Maniema Union and Kaizer Chiefs were all exempted from the opening round because of their continental rankings.
The tournament will feature 56 clubs. The first preliminary round will involve 48 teams, with the 24 two-legged ties producing the sides that will join the eight exempt clubs in the 32-team second preliminary round.
Al Ahly, the historic African champions, will begin their campaign against the winner of the tie between Somalia’s Mogadishu City and Uganda’s Kitara.
Morocco’s Raja CA will face the winner of El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria and Benin’s Ayema, while AS FAR will meet the winner of AS PSI of Chad and Cote d’Ivoire’s CO Korhogo.
USM Alger have been drawn against the winner of Ethiopia’s Panthers and Benin’s ASPAC. Their Algerian rivals CR Belouizdad will play the winner of Customs of Burkina Faso and Guinea’s Hafia FC.
Azam FC will face the winner of the first-round tie between Egypt’s ZED FC and Djibouti’s Telecom, while the winner of Al Hilal Al-Sahel of Sudan and Ethiopia’s Welwalo Adigrat will meet the winner of KMKM of Zanzibar and Al Ahli Tripoli.
The first-round ties are scheduled to be played over two legs from 4 to 6 September 2026, with the return matches taking place from 11 to 13 September.
Second-round first legs will be held from 16 to 18 October, followed by the return matches from 23 to 25 October.
First preliminary round draw
The first-round ties are:
– Mogadishu City (Somalia) v Kitara (Uganda)
– ZED FC (Egypt) v Telecom (Djibouti)
– Al Hilal Al-Sahel (Sudan) v Welwalo 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)
– Customs (Burkina Faso) v Hafia FC (Guinea)
– El Kanemi Warriors (Nigeria) v Ayema (Benin)
– FC Amadou Diallo (Cote d’Ivoire) v East End Lions (Sierra Leone)
– Shooting Stars (Nigeria) v CS Sfaxien (Tunisia)
– AS Gabes (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 Rousseau (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
– Durban City (South Africa) v Rukinzo (Burundi)
– Pamplemousses FC (Mauritius) v Jwaneng Galaxy (Botswana)
– Panther Sportif (Central African Republic) v Rayon Sports (Rwanda)
– Atomic (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
The second-round pairings, with the winners of the first-round ties listed first, are:
– Winner of Mogadishu City v Kitara versus Al Ahly
– Winner of ZED FC v Telecom versus Azam FC
– Winner of Al Hilal Al-Sahel v Welwalo Adigrat versus winner of KMKM v Al Ahli Tripoli
– Winner of Al Ahli Madani v Tusker versus winner of Al-Ghazala Wau v Singida Black Stars
– Winner of Panthers v ASPAC versus USM Alger
– Winner of AS PSI v CO Korhogo versus AS FAR
– Winner of Customs v Hafia FC versus CR Belouizdad
– Winner of El Kanemi Warriors v Ayema versus Raja CA
– Winner of FC Amadou Diallo v East End Lions versus winner of Shooting Stars v CS Sfaxien
– Winner of AS Gabes v Diambars versus winner of Vitesse v Real Bamako
– Winner of Djoliba AC v Nations FC versus winner of AS ZAM v ASKO de Kara
– Winner of University of Namibia v Kabuscorp do Palanca versus Maniema Union
– Winner of Red Arrows v FC Rousseau versus Kaizer Chiefs
– Winner of Durban City v Rukinzo versus winner of Pamplemousses FC v Jwaneng Galaxy
– Winner of Panther Sportif v Rayon Sports versus winner of Atomic v Black Bulls
– Winner of DC Virunga v Bazar Brothers versus winner of Green Mamba v 1o de Agosto
The group stage is due to begin in November, with the opening round scheduled between 27 and 29 November 2026. The second round will take place from 4 to 6 December, the third from 18 to 20 December, the fourth from 8 to 10 January 2027, the fifth from 15 to 17 January and the sixth from 22 to 24 January.
The quarter-final first legs are scheduled for 26 to 28 February 2027, with the second legs from 5 to 7 March. The semi-final first legs will be played between 9 and 11 April, followed by the return matches from 16 to 18 April.
The final will be staged between 9 and 31 May 2027, although the exact date has not yet been confirmed.
USM Alger are the holders after beating Zamalek on penalties in last season’s final.
The Confederation Cup winners will receive $4m in prize money. Clubs eliminated during the preliminary rounds will each be paid a solidarity contribution of $100,000 under CAF’s policy of supporting participating teams.
