The 2026-27 CAF Champions League draw has handed TP Mazembe a difficult route back to the group stage, while ASEC Mimosas could face Moroccan champions MAS de Fes. By contrast, MC Alger, Esperance Tunis and RS Berkane have been given more favourable paths through the two preliminary rounds.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw for both qualifying rounds on Thursday. The first round will be played in September, followed by the second round in October, with 16 teams ultimately advancing to the group stage.
The competition will not include record 12-time winners Al Ahly or AS FAR Rabat, who were runners-up last spring, as neither club qualified.
Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, RS Berkane and Esperance Tunis have all been exempted from the first preliminary round and will enter the competition in the second round.
Mamelodi Sundowns appear to have been handed one of the clearest routes into the group stage. The 2025 African champions will meet the winner of the first-round tie between Wiliete Benguela of Angola and Foresters FC of the Seychelles.
Esperance Tunis will face the winner of Swehly SC of Libya and KVZ FC of Zanzibar, while RS Berkane will play the team that comes through the meeting between Star Sport Academy of Sierra Leone and Medina United FC of The Gambia.
On paper, those three second-round ties put the established sides in a strong position to reach the group stage.
MC Alger also have reason to approach the draw with confidence. The Algerian champions will begin against ASN Nigelec of Niger. Should they progress, they will meet the winner of Rangers International of Nigeria and AS Sobemap of Benin in the second round.
The draw was less kind to Algeria’s other representatives, JS Saoura. They must first overcome Horoya AC of Guinea, a club with extensive continental experience despite having declined in recent years.
If JS Saoura advance, they will face the winner of Al Merriekh SC of Sudan and Power Dynamos of Zambia. Al Merriekh SC are regular participants in the group stage.
TP Mazembe, returning to the CAF Champions League after missing last season, also face a demanding campaign. The five-time African champions will start against Medeama SC of Ghana before a potential second-round tie against the winner of Club Africain of Tunisia and Djoliba AC of Mali.
The other club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Aigles du Congo, will open against APR FC of Rwanda. Progress would set up a possible meeting with Zamalek, provided the Egyptian giants first eliminate AS Port of Djibouti.
ASEC Mimosas have also been given a challenging route. The Ivorian side will play ASCK of Togo in the opening round and could then meet Moroccan champions MAS de Fes, if MAS de Fes beat Rahimo FC.
Stade Malien, quarter-finalists in the previous edition, will begin against Colombe Sportive of Cameroon. Should they qualify, the Bamako-based club could meet Teungueth FC in a west African derby, provided the Senegalese champions defeat FC Canchungo of Guinea-Bissau.
The first-leg matches in the opening preliminary round are scheduled for 4-6 September, with the return legs taking place from 11-13 September. The second round will then be played between 16 and 18 October for the first legs, followed by the return matches from 23-25 October.
At the end of those two preliminary rounds, the 16 successful teams will join the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
