2026–27 CAF Champions League
63rd season of the CAF Champions League
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The 2026–27 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes,[1] will be the 63rd season of Africa's premier football club tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 31st season under the CAF Champions League title.
4 September – 25 October 2026
Competition proper:
27 November 2026 – 31 May 2027
| TotalEnergies CAF Champions League 2026–2027 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | Qualification: 4 September – 25 October 2026 Competition proper: 27 November 2026 – 31 May 2027 |
| Teams | 64 (initially registered) (from 52 associations) |
← 2025–26 2027–28 →
All statistics correct as of 27 July 2026.(Note: All statistics do not include qualifying rounds) | |
Mamelodi Sundowns are the defending champions, having defeated AS FAR 2–1 on aggregate in the 2026 final to win their second continental title.[2]
The winners of the competition will automatically qualify for the 2027–28 CAF Champions League, and will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2026–27 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2027 CAF Super Cup. They will also qualify for the 2027 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and are expected to qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, subject to the final qualification regulations issued by FIFA.[3]
Association team allocation
All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League. The 12 highest-ranked associations according to the CAF 5-year ranking are eligible to enter two teams in the competition.[3]
The reigning CAF Champions League title holders are also automatically entitled to enter the following edition. However, no association may normally be represented by more than two clubs. As a result, a maximum of 68 teams could theoretically enter the tournament, although this number has never been reached.
For the 2026–27 edition, CAF used the 2021–2026 CAF 5-year ranking. The ranking calculated points for each association based on its clubs' performances in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup during the previous five seasons.
The points awarded for each stage were as follows:[4][5]
| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 6 points | 5 points |
| Runners-up | 5 points | 4 points |
| Losing semi-finalists | 4 points | 3 points |
| Losing quarter-finalists | 3 points | 2 points |
| Third place in group | 2 points | 1 point |
| Fourth place in group | 1 point | 0.5 point |
The points were multiplied by a coefficient according to the season as follows:
- 2025–26: × 5
- 2024–25: × 4
- 2023–24: × 3
- 2022–23: × 2
- 2021–22: × 1
The twelve associations eligible to enter two clubs were Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Mali, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Teams
CAF initially confirmed 61 teams from 48 associations for the competition.[6]
- Bold received a bye to the second round.
- The other teams entered the first round.
Associations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking. Associations with a ranking score have their position and points indicated in parentheses.
- Associations which did not enter a team
Schedule
CAF announced the competition calendar on 2 July 2026.[7]
The exact dates of the final and the dates of the qualifying and group-stage draws had not been announced as of 27 July 2026.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying rounds | First round | 6 August 2026[8] | 4–6 September 2026 | 11–13 September 2026 |
| Second round | 16–18 October 2026 | 23–25 October 2026 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | To be confirmed | 27–29 November 2026 | |
| Matchday 2 | 4–6 December 2026 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 18–20 December 2026 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 8–10 January 2027 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 15–17 January 2027 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 22–24 January 2027 | |||
| Knockout stage | Quarter-finals | To be confirmed | 26–28 February 2027 | 5–7 March 2027 |
| Semi-finals | 9–11 April 2027 | 16–18 April 2027 | ||
| Final | 9–31 May 2027 (exact dates to be confirmed) | |||
Qualifying rounds
The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 6 August 2026, 12:00 GMT (15:00 local time, UTC+3), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[9] In the qualifying rounds, each tie will be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score will be tied after the second leg, the away goals rule will be applied, and if still tied, extra time will not be played, and a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wiliete  | 5–0 |  Foresters | 4–0 | 1–0 |
Scottland  | 1–0 |  Nsingizini Hotspurs | 1–0 | 0–0 |
UD Songo  | 2–3 | Petro de Luanda | 0–1 | 2–2 |
Mangasport  | 3–3 (a) |  African Stars | 3–1 | 0–2 |
La Cure Waves  | 1–3 |  Orlando Pirates | 0–0 | 1–3 |
15 de Agosto  | 5–0 |  Fomboni | 4–0 | 1–0 |
Mighty Wanderers  | 1–7 |  Simba | 0–1 | 1–6 |
CFFA  | 3–1 |  Lijabatho | 2–0 | 1–1 |
Gaborone United  | 2–3 | Young Africans | 1–1 | 1–2 |
Asswehly  | 4–0 |  KVZ FC | 1–0 | 3–0 |
Aigles du Congo  | 1–3 |  APR | 1–0 | 0–3 |
AS Port  | 1–6 |  Zamalek | 1–2 | 0–4 |
El Merriekh Bentiu  | 4–0 |  Heegan | 1–0 | 3–0 |
Gor Mahia  | 1–7 | Pyramids | 0–2 | 1–5 |
Aiglons  | 0–3 |  Sidama | 0–0 | 0–3 |
Aigle Noir  | 0–3 |  Al Hilal | 0–2 | 0–1 |
Star Sport Academy  | 1–1 (a) |  Medina United | 0–0 | 1–1 |
Maghreb Fez  | 4–1 |  Rahimo | 4–1 | 0–0 |
ASC Kara  | 2–3 |  ASEC Mimosas | 1–1 | 1–2 |
Canchungo  | 0–2 |  Teungueth | 0–1 | 0–1 |
Colombe Sportive  | 0–0 (4–3 p) |  Stade Malien | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Rangers  | 1–1 (5–4 p) |  Sobemap | 1–1 | 1–1 |
ASN Nigelec  | 0–5 |  MC Alger | 0–0 | 0–5 |
| San Pédro | 3–3 (a) | Rivers United | 1–1 | 2–2 |
Vipers  | 1–1 (a) |  Nouadhibou | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| JS Saoura | 2–3 |  Horoya | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Al Merrikh | 2–0 |  Power Dynamos | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Medeama  | 1–4 | TP Mazembe | 0–1 | 1–3 |
Club Africain  | 3–2 | Djoliba | 1–0 | 2–2 |
Second round
The 16 winners of the second round will advance to the group stage.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiliete | SR1 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Scottland | SR2 | Petro de Luanda | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| African Stars | SR3 | Orlando Pirates | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| 15 de Agosto | SR4 | Simba | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| CFFA | SR5 | Young Africans | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Asswehly | SR6 | Espérance de Tunis | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| APR | SR7 | Zamalek | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| El Merriekh Bentiu | SR8 | Pyramids | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Sidama | SR9 | Al Hilal | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Star Sport Academy | SR10 | RS Berkane | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Maghreb Fez | SR11 | ASEC Mimosas | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Teungueth | SR12 | Colombe Sportive | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Rangers | SR13 | MC Alger | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| San Pédro | SR14 | Nouadhibou | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| Horoya | SR15 | Al Merrikh | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |
| TP Mazembe | SR16 | Club Africain | 16–18 Oct | 23–25 Oct |