USM Alger, Raja Casablanca, AS FAR Rabat and Al Ahly will all begin their 2026-27 CAF Confederation Cup campaigns in the second preliminary round after being exempted from the opening stage.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw for both preliminary rounds on Thursday, with eight clubs receiving byes because of their previous performances in the competition.
The exempted teams are Al Ahly of Egypt, Tanzania’s Azam FC, USM Alger, AS FAR, CR Belouizdad, Raja Casablanca, AS Maniema Union of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs.
USM Alger, the defending champions, will face the winners of the first-round tie between Equatorial Guinea’s Panthers FC and ASPAC of Benin. The Algerian club will therefore enter the competition against one of two teams ranked below them on paper.
CR Belouizdad will meet the side that emerges from the first-round contest between AS Douanes of Mauritania and Guinea’s Hafia FC.
Raja Casablanca will also wait for the outcome of a first-round tie. The Moroccan club has been drawn against the winners of the match between Nigeria’s El Kanemi Warriors and UDIB of Guinea-Bissau.
AS FAR, who lost in last season’s CAF Champions League final, will play either AS PSI of Chad or CO Korhogo of Ivory Coast. That means all four of the major North African clubs could face teams from West Africa when they begin their campaigns.
Al Ahly, who have dropped into the CAF Confederation Cup after failing to qualify for the CAF Champions League, are expected to be among the leading contenders for the trophy. The Egyptian giants will face the winners of the first-round meeting between Somalia’s Mogadishu CC and Uganda’s Kitara FC, resulting in a relatively short trip to East Africa for their opening match.
AS Maniema Union have been handed a potentially more demanding route. The Congolese club could meet Angola’s Kabuscorp if Kabuscorp first overcome Namibia’s UNAM. Facing Kabuscorp at this stage would represent a difficult assignment for AS Maniema Union, particularly after their run to the quarter-finals of the competition last season.
Difficult ties in the opening round
CS Sfaxien face one of the most challenging first-round draws, with the Tunisian side travelling to Nigeria to play Shooting Stars. They will need to negotiate a difficult away match before they can think about a possible second-round meeting with one of the exempted clubs.
Another notable tie will see ES Zarzis take on Senegalese academy side Diambars. There will also be a West African derby between Burkina Faso’s Vitesse FC and AS Real Bamako of Mali, in a contest expected to be closely fought.
Several academy-based clubs have also discovered their routes through the competition. Ivory Coast’s AF Amadou Diallo will play Sierra Leone’s East End Lions. The winner could then face either Shooting Stars or CS Sfaxien in the second preliminary round.
FC Diarra of Mali will meet Ghana’s Nations FC. Should they progress, they could face AS Zam of Niger or ASKO de Kara of Togo in the next stage.
The first legs of the opening preliminary round will be played from 4 to 6 September, with the return fixtures scheduled for 11 to 13 September. Second-round first legs will take place from 16 to 18 October, followed by the return matches between 23 and 25 October.
After those two preliminary rounds, the 16 teams that qualify will join the group stage of the 2026-27 CAF Confederation Cup.
