On Wednesday 28 October in Cairo, the draws for the group stages of the Champions League and the Confederation Cup take place. Zamalek and Pyramids are in the first pot, while the holders, Mamelodi Sundowns, were knocked out in qualifying by Angola’s Wiliete Sport.
Both draws are being held at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association, at the national teams centre in Cairo. According to Youm7, the Confederation Cup starts at 14:00 Cairo time, and the Champions League follows at 15:00, as Veto Gate reports. Both ceremonies are broadcast live on On Sport, beIN Sports News and the official CAF platforms, including CAF TV on YouTube. Khaled Nassar, the CAF representative, is the master of ceremonies, and the gala is presented by Andrew Kabuura.
Sixteen clubs have qualified for the Champions League group stage, split into four groups of four, according to Al-Ahram. Among them are Al-Hilal Omdurman, Petro Atlético, Club Africain, CS Columbia, FC Nouadhibou, Horoya AC, Maghreb de Fès, MC Alger, Orlando Pirates, Simba SC, Wiliete SC and Young Africans. The Egyptian representatives Zamalek and Pyramids are in the first pot and will therefore be group seeds, along with Espérance de Tunis and Nahdat Berkane, Veto Gate specifies. The holders, Mamelodi Sundowns, will not feature in the groups, having been knocked out in qualifying by Angola’s Wiliete Sport, according to Al-Khaleej.
Confederation Cup: a 16th qualifier still awaited
Al Ahly qualified for the Confederation Cup by beating Kitara 6-1 on aggregate. They are in the first pot along with USM Alger, FAR Rabat and CR Belouizdad, subject to qualification, according to Al-Ahram. CS Sfaxien represent Tunisia in this competition, Al-Chourouk reports.
The draw is nevertheless waiting for the 16th qualifier. The dispute between Mauritania’s Club des Douanes and Hafia Conakry, taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leaves the identity of CR Belouizdad’s opponent in suspense, according to Al-Bawaba News. Club des Douanes were initially declared forfeit after a delayed flight, with a plane having come off the runway in Nouakchott, before CAF reversed its decision. In the return leg, the Mauritanians won 1-0 in Guinea, after a 2-2 draw in the first leg. The CAS decision will therefore determine the last qualifier for the Confederation Cup.
November in sight
The groups will only be known after the draws, but the calendar is set: the group stage begins in November 2026. Each team will play six matches, home and away, and the top two in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, according to Al-Bawaba News.
Nadi Afriki sent its general secretary, Hager Bakkar, to Cairo to attend the draw, Al-Chourouk reports. On the officials’ side, CAF has appointed former players Oussama Darragi (Tunisia) and Achille Emana (Cameroon) as draw assistants for the Champions League, and Alan Traoré (Burkina Faso) and Moudather El-Tayeb (Sudan) for the Confederation Cup, according to Dostor.