Preliminary round draw of the CAF Confederation Cup: easy ties awaited for Al Ahly, Raja and FAR Rabat

CAF held the draw for the two preliminary rounds of the 2026-2027 CAF Confederation Cup on Thursday at their headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo, handing the major clubs some comfortable ties.

This season's Confederation Cup features 56 clubs. The eight top-ranked sides skip the first preliminary round, entering the competition directly at the second stage.

That leaves 48 teams contesting 24 ties over two legs in the first preliminary round. Their winners join the eight exempted clubs to complete a 32-team line-up for the second preliminary round.

According to the continental ranking, eight clubs earned a bye from the first preliminary round: Al Ahly of Egypt, Azam of Tanzania, USM Alger and CR Belouizdad of Algeria, Raja and AS FAR of Morocco, Maniema Union of Congo, and Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa.

Al Ahly of Egypt, Africa's historic champions, begin their campaign in the second preliminary round against the winner of the tie between Mogadishu City of Somalia and Kitara of Uganda.

Raja of Morocco face the qualifier from the match between El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria and Oudjeb of Benin. AS FAR of Morocco await the winner of the meeting between ASBSI of Chad and Kokoroko of Ivory Coast.

USM Alger of Algeria meet the qualifier from the tie between Panthers of Ethiopia and ASPAC of Benin, while CR Belouizdad of Algeria face the winner of the meeting between Douanes of Burkina Faso and Hafia Conakry of Guinea.

Elsewhere in the second round, the winner of the match between ZED of Egypt and Ittihad Djibouti meet Azam of Tanzania. The qualifier from the meeting between Al Hilal Al Sahel of Sudan and Welwalo Adigrat of Ethiopia face the winner of the tie between KMKM of Zanzibar and Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya.

First preliminary round first legs run from 4 to 6 September, with the return legs between 11 and 13 of the same month.

Second preliminary round first legs follow between 16 and 18 October, with the return legs from 23 to 25 October.

USM Alger of Algeria hold the trophy from the last edition, having beaten Zamalek of Egypt on penalties in the final.

Winning the CAF Confederation Cup earns prize money of 4 million dollars. Every team knocked out during the preliminary rounds pockets a solidarity payment of 100,000 dollars, part of CAF's policy of supporting the participating clubs.

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Results of the first preliminary round draw

Mogadishu City of Somalia v Kitara of Uganda.

ZED of Egypt v Ittihad Djibouti.

Al Hilal Al Sahel of Sudan v Welwalo Adigrat of Ethiopia.

KMKM of Zanzibar v Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya.

Al Ahly Madani of Sudan v Tusker of Kenya.

Al Ghazala Wau of South Sudan v Singida Black Stars of Tanzania.

Panthers of Ethiopia v ASPAC of Benin.

ASBSI of Chad v Kokoroko of Ivory Coast.

Douanes of Burkina Faso v Hafia Conakry of Guinea.

El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria v Oudjeb of Benin.

FC Amadou Diallo of Ivory Coast v East End Lions of Sierra Leone.

Shooting Stars of Nigeria v CS Sfaxien of Tunisia.

Mostakbal Gabes of Tunisia v Diambars of Senegal.

Vitesse of Burkina Faso v Real Bamako of Mali.

Diarra of Mali v Nations of Ghana.

AS Sam of Niger v ASKO Kara of Togo.

University of Namibia (UNAM) v Kabuscorp de Palanca of Angola.

Red Arrows of Zambia v FC Rouge of Congo.

Durban City of South Africa v Rukinzo of Burundi.

Port Louis 2000 of Mauritius v Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana.

Panthere Sportive (Central Africa) v Rayon Sport of Rwanda.

Atomique du Niger v Black Bulls of Mozambique.

DC Virunga of DR Congo v Bazar Brothers of Seychelles.

Green Mamba of Eswatini v Primeiro de Agosto of Angola.

Second preliminary round ties

The winner of Mogadishu City of Somalia v Kitara of Uganda against Al Ahly of Egypt.

The winner of ZED of Egypt v Ittihad Djibouti against Azam of Tanzania.

The winner of Al Hilal Al Sahel of Sudan v Welwalo Adigrat of Ethiopia against the winner of KMKM of Zanzibar v Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya.

The winner of Al Ahly Madani of Sudan v Tusker of Kenya against the winner of Al Ghazala Wau of South Sudan v Singida Black Stars of Tanzania.

The winner of Panthers of Ethiopia v ASPAC of Benin against USM Alger of Algeria.

The winner of ASBSI of Chad v Kokoroko of Ivory Coast against AS FAR of Morocco.

The winner of Douanes of Burkina Faso v Hafia Conakry of Guinea against CR Belouizdad of Algeria.

The winner of El Kanemi Warriors of Nigeria v Oudjeb of Benin against Raja of Morocco.

The winner of FC Amadou Diallo of Ivory Coast v East End Lions of Sierra Leone against the winner of Shooting Stars of Nigeria v CS Sfaxien of Tunisia.

The winner of Mostakbal Gabes of Tunisia v Diambars of Senegal against the winner of Vitesse of Burkina Faso v Real Bamako of Mali.

The winner of Diarra of Mali v Nations of Ghana against the winner of AS Sam of Niger v ASKO Kara of Togo.

The winner of University of Namibia v Kabuscorp de Palanca of Angola against Maniema Union of DR Congo.

The winner of Red Arrows of Zambia v FC Rouge of Congo against Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa.

The winner of Durban City of South Africa v Rukinzo of Burundi against the winner of Port Louis 2000 of Mauritius v Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana.

The winner of Panthere Sportive (Central Africa) v Rayon Sport of Rwanda against the winner of Atomique du Niger v Black Bulls of Mozambique.

The winner of DC Virunga of DR Congo v Bazar Brothers of Seychelles against the winner of Green Mamba of Eswatini v Primeiro de Agosto of Angola.

Dates of the CAF Confederation Cup 2026-2027 matches

First preliminary round

First leg matches: from 4 to 6 September 2026.

Return leg matches: from 11 to 13 September 2026.

Second preliminary round

First leg matches: from 16 to 18 October 2026.

Return leg matches: from 23 to 25 October 2026.

Group stage

Matchday one: from 27 to 29 November 2026.

Matchday two: from 4 to 6 December 2026.

Matchday three: from 18 to 20 December 2026.

Matchday four: from 8 to 10 January 2027.

Matchday five: from 15 to 17 January 2027.

Matchday six: from 22 to 24 January 2027.

Knockout rounds

Quarter-finals

First leg: from 26 to 28 February 2027.

Return leg: from 5 to 7 March 2027.

Semi-finals

First leg: from 9 to 11 April 2027.

Return leg: from 16 to 18 April 2027.

Final

During the period from 9 to 31 May 2027.

The final date has not yet been determined.

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