CAF has confirmed the schedule for the second preliminary round of the Confederation Cup between CR Belouizdad and AS Douanes: first leg on 23 November in Nouakchott, return leg on 27 November in Algeria.
The administrative saga is drawing to a close. According to La Gazette du Fennec, CAF has officially confirmed the schedule for the two-legged tie between CR Belouizdad and AS Douanes in the second preliminary round of the 2026-2027 Confederation Cup. The Algerian club now knows the exact sequence of its two fixtures.
The first leg will be played in Mauritania on Monday 23 November 2026 at 18:00 (Algerian time), at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya stadium in Nouakchott. The return leg will follow four days later, on Friday 27 November at 20:00, in Algeria, at a venue still to be confirmed.
An opponent confirmed after CAS
The identity of CRB’s opponent depended on a legal process. It was after a legal ruling before CAS that AS Douanes was officially confirmed as the Algerian club’s opponent, La Gazette du Fennec reports.
Both matches are now set, four days apart, with a trip to Mauritania for the first game. The CRB coaching staff and players must manage this tight schedule while continuing their preparations.
The group stage in their sights
The CR Belouizdad coaching staff and players are continuing their preparations with the ambition of reaching the group stage. Qualification against AS Douanes will determine the rest of the club’s continental campaign.
CAF has also anticipated the schedule for qualifiers. If they qualify, CRB’s first match in Group C, against Zambia’s Red Arrows FC, initially scheduled earlier, will be moved to between 11 and 13 December 2026. That adjustment only applies if the club clears the Mauritanian hurdle.
The second matchday of the group stage will take place on the originally scheduled date. The club therefore knows where it stands: two matches in November to secure a place, then a group stage whose first fixture has a new date.
Nouakchott, then back to Algeria
The Cheikha Ould Boïdiya stadium in Nouakchott will host the first leg on Monday 23 November at 18:00, Algerian time. CRB will need to lay the foundations for qualification there before the return leg on Friday 27 November at 20:00, in Algeria.
The venue for the return leg is still to be confirmed, according to La Gazette du Fennec. Four days apart, CRB therefore does not yet know which stadium will host the second match.