[CLSTR]
< Back to situation

[REVISION HISTORY]

CAF club competition expansion rollout

Updated 8 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-07 21:01 UTC → 2026-08-28 20:43 UTC · added removed

CAF’s July 2026 decision to add an extra club slot for each member association is being operationalised. On 6 August 2026 2026, the preliminary‑round preliminary-round draws for the 2026/27 Champions League and Confederation Cup were held in Cairo, confirming 56 clubs entered. The eight highest‑ranked sides – Al highest-ranked sides—Al Ahly (Egypt), Azam FC (Tanzania), USM Alger, CR Belouizdad (Algeria), Raja Casablanca, AS FAR (Morocco), Maniema Union (DR Congo) Congo), and Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) – received Africa)—received byes to the second preliminary round. First‑round two‑legged First-round two-legged ties are scheduled for 4‑6 4–6 September (first leg) and 11‑13 11–13 September (return leg). In addition to previously noted match‑ups (e.g., Notable pairings include Shooting Stars (Nigeria) vs CS Sfaxien, El‑Kanemi Sfaxien (Tunisia), El-Kanemi Warriors (Nigeria) vs UDIB), the draw paired UDIB (Guinea-Bissau), DC Virunga (DR Congo) with vs Bazar Brothers (Seychelles), and Horoya AC (Guinea) with vs JS Saoura (Algeria), (Algeria). Other matchups include Vitesse FC (Burkina Faso) with vs AS Réal de Bamako, Bamako and Rahimo FC (Burkina Faso) with vs MAS de Fès. Winners Al Ahly will progress to second‑round fixtures on 16‑18 October face the winner of the Mogadishu City (Somalia) vs Kitara FC (Uganda) tie. The upcoming season introduces a USD 100,000 solidarity payment for teams eliminated before the group stages of both competitions. Major clubs such as Al Ahly and 23‑25 October, with Raja Casablanca are competing in the group‑stage line‑up to follow. Confederation Cup, while TP Mazembe, ASEC Mimosas, and Club Africain participate in the Champions League. CAF also released an updated club ranking: USM Alger is fifth in Africa, with CR Belouizdad and MC Alger also in the top‑20, top-20, while Mamelodi Sundowns remains first and Al Ahly second. In women’s football, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana must beat Burkina Faso in their final WAFCON group match, and the COSAFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers have drawn Gaborone United Ladies and Silver Strikers Ladies into their groups.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-28 20:43 UTC CAF club competition expansion rollout
  2. 2026-08-07 21:01 UTC CAF club competition expansion rollout
  3. 2026-08-07 03:24 UTC CAF club competition expansion rollout
  4. 2026-08-07 01:38 UTC CAF club competition expansion rollout
  5. 2026-08-06 17:13 UTC CAF club competition expansion rollout
  6. 2026-08-06 17:12 UTC CAF Champions League expansion implementation
  7. 2026-08-06 13:25 UTC CAF Champions League expansion implementation
  8. 2026-08-04 16:53 UTC CAF Champions League expansion implementation
  9. 2026-08-03 07:45 UTC CAF Champions League expansion process

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.