2025–26 CAF Champions League

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The 2025–26 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes, is the 62nd season of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the 30th under the CAF Champions League title.

The winners of this edition of the competition will automatically qualify for its next edition, the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2026 CAF Super Cup.

Association team allocation

2025–26 CAF Champions League

All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to the CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. As a result, a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.

For this season's edition, CAF used the 2020–2025 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculates points for each entrant association based on their clubs performance over the 5 years in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. The criteria for the points were as follows:

	CAF Champions League	CAF Confederation Cup
Winners	6 points	5 points
Runners-up	5 points	4 points
Losing semi-finalists	4 points	3 points
Losing quarter-finalists	3 points	2 points
3rd place in groups	2 points	1 point
4th place in groups	1 point	0.5 point

The points were multiplied by a coefficient according to the season as follows:

• 2024–25: × 5 • 2023–24: × 4 • 2022–23: × 3 • 2021–22: × 2 • 2020–21: × 1

Teams

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The following 62 teams from 50 associations entered the competition.

• Bold received a bye to the second round. • The other teams entered the first round.

Associations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score (in parentheses) indicated.

<table><thead><tr><th>Association</th><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th>Qualification method</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> Egypt</td><td>1</td><td>Al Ahly</td><td>2024–25 Egyptian Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td>Pyramids</td><td>2024–25 CAF Champions League champions 2024–25 Egyptian Premier League runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Morocco</td><td>2</td><td>RS Berkane</td><td>2024–25 Botola Pro champions</td></tr><tr><td>AS FAR</td><td>2024–25 Botola Pro runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> South Africa</td><td>3</td><td>Mamelodi Sundowns</td><td>2024–25 South African Premiership champions</td></tr><tr><td>Orlando Pirates</td><td>2024–25 South African Premiership runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Algeria</td><td>4</td><td>MC Alger</td><td>2024–25 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions</td></tr><tr><td>JS Kabylie</td><td>2024–25 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Tanzania</td><td>5</td><td>Young Africans</td><td>2024–25 Tanzanian Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td>Simba</td><td>2024–25 Tanzanian Premier League runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Tunisia</td><td>6</td><td>Espérance de Tunis</td><td>2024–25 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions</td></tr><tr><td>US Monastir</td><td>2024–25 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Angola</td><td>7</td><td>Petro de Luanda</td><td>2024–25 Girabola champions</td></tr><tr><td>Wiliete</td><td>2024–25 Girabola runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> DR Congo</td><td>8</td><td>Aigles du Congo</td><td>2024–25 Linafoot champions</td></tr><tr><td>FC Saint-Éloi Lupopo</td><td>2024–25 Linafoot runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Sudan</td><td>9</td><td>Al Hilal</td><td>2024–25 Sudan Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td>Al Merrikh</td><td>2024–25 Sudan Premier League runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Ivory Coast</td><td>10</td><td>Stade d'Abidjan</td><td>2024–25 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions</td></tr><tr><td>ASEC Mimosas</td><td>2024–25 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Libya</td><td>11</td><td>Al Ahli Tripoli</td><td>2024–25 Libyan Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td>Al Hilal Benghazi</td><td>2024–25 Libyan Premier League runners-up</td></tr><tr><td> Nigeria</td><td>12</td><td>Remo Stars</td><td>2024–25 Nigeria Premier Football League champions</td></tr><tr><td>Rivers United</td><td>2024–25 Nigeria Premier Football League runners-up</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>Association</th><th>Rank</th><th>Team</th><th>Qualification method</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> Mali</td><td>13</td><td>Stade Malien</td><td>2024–25 Malian Première Division champions</td></tr><tr><td> Ghana</td><td>14</td><td>Bibiani Gold Stars</td><td>2024–25 Ghana Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Guinea</td><td>15</td><td>Horoya</td><td>2024–25 Guinée Championnat National champions</td></tr><tr><td> Botswana</td><td>16</td><td>Gaborone United</td><td>2024–25 Botswana Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Senegal</td><td>17</td><td>ASC Jaraaf</td><td>2024–25 Senegal Ligue 1 champions</td></tr><tr><td> Mauritania</td><td>18</td><td>FC Nouadhibou</td><td>2024–25 Super D1 champions</td></tr><tr><td> Congo</td><td>19</td><td>AC Léopards</td><td>2024–25 Congo Ligue 1 champions</td></tr><tr><td> Cameroon</td><td>20</td><td>Colombe Sportive</td><td>2024–25 Elite One champions</td></tr><tr><td> Togo</td><td>21</td><td>ASC Kara</td><td>2024–25 Togolese Championnat National champions</td></tr><tr><td> Uganda</td><td>22</td><td>Vipers</td><td>2024–25 Uganda Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Mozambique</td><td>23</td><td>Black Bulls</td><td>2024 Moçambola champions</td></tr><tr><td> Zambia</td><td>24</td><td>Power Dynamos</td><td>2024–25 Zambia Super League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Eswatini</td><td>25</td><td>Nsingizini Hotspurs</td><td>2024–25 Premier League of Eswatini champions</td></tr><tr><td> Niger</td><td>25</td><td>AS FAN</td><td>2024–25 Niger Super Ligue champions</td></tr><tr><td> Burkina Faso</td><td>27</td><td>Rahimo</td><td>2024–25 Burkinabé Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Benin</td><td>—</td><td>Dadjè</td><td>2024–25 Benin Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Burundi</td><td>—</td><td>Aigle Noir</td><td>2024–25 Burundi Ligue A champions</td></tr><tr><td> Central African Republic</td><td>—</td><td>AS Tempête</td><td>2024–25 Central African Republic League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Comoros</td><td>—</td><td>US Zilimadjou</td><td>2024–25 Comoros Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Djibouti</td><td>—</td><td>ASAS Djibouti Télécom</td><td>2024–25 Djibouti Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Equatorial Guinea</td><td>—</td><td>Fundación Bata</td><td>2024–25 Equatoguinean Primera División champions</td></tr><tr><td> Ethiopia</td><td>—</td><td>Ethiopian Insurance</td><td>2024–25 Ethiopian Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Gabon</td><td>—</td><td>Mangasport</td><td>2024–25 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions</td></tr><tr><td> Gambia</td><td>—</td><td>Real de Banjul</td><td>2024–25 GFA League First Division champions</td></tr><tr><td> Kenya</td><td>—</td><td>Kenya Police</td><td>2024–25 Kenyan Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Lesotho</td><td>—</td><td>Lioli</td><td>2024–25 Lesotho Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Liberia</td><td>—</td><td>Fassell</td><td>2024–25 LFA First Division champions</td></tr><tr><td> Madagascar</td><td>—</td><td>Elgeco Plus</td><td>2024–25 Malagasy Pro League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Malawi</td><td>—</td><td>Silver Strikers</td><td>2024 Super League of Malawi champions</td></tr><tr><td> Mauritius</td><td>—</td><td>Cercle de Joachim</td><td>2024–25 Mauritian Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Namibia</td><td>—</td><td>African Stars</td><td>2024–25 Namibia Premiership champions</td></tr><tr><td> Rwanda</td><td>—</td><td>APR</td><td>2024–25 Rwanda Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Seychelles</td><td>—</td><td>Côte d'Or</td><td>2024–25 Seychelles Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Sierra Leone</td><td>—</td><td>East End Lions</td><td>2024–25 Sierra Leone National Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Somalia</td><td>—</td><td>Mogadishu City</td><td>2024–25 Somali First Division champions</td></tr><tr><td> South Sudan</td><td>—</td><td>Jamus</td><td>2025 South Sudan Football Championship champions</td></tr><tr><td> Zanzibar</td><td>—</td><td>Mlandege</td><td>2024–25 Zanzibar Premier League champions</td></tr><tr><td> Zimbabwe</td><td>—</td><td>Simba Bhora</td><td>2024 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions</td></tr></tbody></table>

Schedule

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows.

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying rounds	First round	9 August 2025	19–21 September 2025	26–28 September 2025
Second round	17–19 October 2025	24 October – 1 November 2025
Group stage	Matchday 1	3 November 2025	21–23 November 2025
Matchday 2	28–30 November 2025
Matchday 3	23–25 January 2026
Matchday 4	30 January – 1 February 2026
Matchday 5	6–8 February 2026
Matchday 6	13–15 February 2026
Knockout stage	Quarter-finals	17 February 2026	13–14 March 2026	20–21 March 2026
Semi-finals	10–11 April 2026	17–18 April 2026
Final	15 May 2026	24 May 2026

Qualifying rounds

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 9 August 2025, 10:00 GMT (13:00 local time, UTC+3), in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In the qualifying rounds, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations III. 13 & 14).

First round

<table><thead><tr><th>Team 1</th><th>Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score</th><th>Team 2</th><th>1st leg</th><th>2nd leg</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Aigle Noir </td><td>1–1 (a)</td><td> ASAS Djibouti Télécom</td><td>0–0</td><td>1–1</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopian Insurance </td><td>4–3</td><td> Mlandege</td><td>2–0</td><td>2–3</td></tr><tr><td>APR </td><td>0–5</td><td> Pyramids</td><td>0–2</td><td>0–3</td></tr><tr><td>Mogadishu City </td><td>3–3 (a)</td><td> Kenya Police</td><td>1–3</td><td>2–0</td></tr><tr><td>Jamus </td><td>0–1</td><td> Al Hilal</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>Rahimo </td><td>0–0 (4–2 p)</td><td> Mangasport</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>AS FAN </td><td>1–7</td><td> Espérance de Tunis</td><td>0–3</td><td>1–4</td></tr><tr><td>Dadjè </td><td>0–1</td><td> Al Ahli Tripoli</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>ASC Kara </td><td>2–4</td><td> RS Berkane</td><td>1–1</td><td>1–3</td></tr><tr><td>East End Lions </td><td>1–7</td><td> US Monastir</td><td>0–4</td><td>1–3</td></tr><tr><td>Bibiani Gold Stars </td><td>0–7</td><td> JS Kabylie</td><td>0–2</td><td>0–5</td></tr><tr><td>Fundación Bata </td><td>0–2</td><td> FC Nouadhibou</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>AS Tempête </td><td>0–7</td><td> Stade Malien</td><td>0–5</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Al Hilal Benghazi </td><td>1–2</td><td> Horoya</td><td>1–0</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Real de Banjul </td><td>1–4</td><td> AS FAR</td><td>0–2</td><td>1–2</td></tr><tr><td>Colombe Sportive </td><td>1–0</td><td> ASC Jaraaf</td><td>0–0</td><td>1–0</td></tr><tr><td>Fassell </td><td>0–3</td><td> MC Alger</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–3</td></tr><tr><td>Remo Stars </td><td>5–0</td><td> US Zilimadjou</td><td>4–0</td><td>1–0</td></tr><tr><td>Simba Bhora </td><td>1–1 (2–4 p)</td><td> Nsingizini Hotspurs</td><td>1–0</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>Gaborone United </td><td>1–2</td><td> Simba</td><td>0–1</td><td>1–1</td></tr><tr><td>Elgeco Plus </td><td>1–1 (a)</td><td> Silver Strikers</td><td>1–1</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>Wiliete </td><td>0–5</td><td> Young Africans</td><td>0–3</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Côte d'Or </td><td>1–5</td><td> Stade d'Abidjan</td><td>0–2</td><td>1–3</td></tr><tr><td>Cercle de Joachim </td><td>0–6</td><td> Petro de Luanda</td><td>0–3</td><td>0–3</td></tr><tr><td>AC Léopards </td><td>0–0 (4–5 p)</td><td> Black Bulls</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>Aigles du Congo </td><td>0–1</td><td> Rivers United</td><td>0–0</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>African Stars </td><td>0–2</td><td> Vipers</td><td>0–1</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>Power Dynamos </td><td>1–1 (5–4 p)</td><td> ASEC Mimosas</td><td>1–0</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>Saint-Éloi Lupopo </td><td>1–0</td><td> Al Merrikh</td><td>1–0</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>Lioli </td><td>0–7</td><td> Orlando Pirates</td><td>0–3</td><td>0–4</td></tr></tbody></table>

Second round

The 16 winners of the second round advanced to the group stage.

<table><thead><tr><th>Team 1</th><th>Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score</th><th>Team 2</th><th>1st leg</th><th>2nd leg</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Aigle Noir </td><td>0–2</td><td> Al Ahly</td><td>0–1</td><td>0–1</td></tr><tr><td>Ethiopian Insurance </td><td>1–3</td><td> Pyramids</td><td>1–1</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Kenya Police </td><td>1–4</td><td> Al Hilal</td><td>0–1</td><td>1–3</td></tr><tr><td>Rahimo </td><td>0–4</td><td> Espérance de Tunis</td><td>0–1</td><td>0–3</td></tr><tr><td>Al Ahli Tripoli </td><td>2–3</td><td> RS Berkane</td><td>1–1</td><td>1–2</td></tr><tr><td>US Monastir </td><td>1–5</td><td> JS Kabylie</td><td>0–3</td><td>1–2</td></tr><tr><td>FC Nouadhibou </td><td>1–3</td><td> Stade Malien</td><td>1–1</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Horoya </td><td>1–4</td><td> AS FAR</td><td>1–1</td><td>0–3</td></tr><tr><td>Colombe Sportive </td><td>1–1 (a)</td><td> MC Alger</td><td>1–1</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>Remo Stars </td><td>1–7</td><td> Mamelodi Sundowns</td><td>1–5</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Nsingizini Hotspurs </td><td>0–3</td><td> Simba</td><td>0–3</td><td>0–0</td></tr><tr><td>Silver Strikers </td><td>1–2</td><td> Young Africans</td><td>1–0</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Stade d'Abidjan </td><td>0–4</td><td> Petro de Luanda</td><td>0–2</td><td>0–2</td></tr><tr><td>Black Bulls </td><td>2–3</td><td> Rivers United</td><td>1–0</td><td>1–3</td></tr><tr><td>Vipers </td><td>2–3</td><td> Power Dynamos</td><td>1–2</td><td>1–1</td></tr><tr><td>Saint-Éloi Lupopo </td><td>3–3 (5–4 p)</td><td> Orlando Pirates</td><td>3–0</td><td>0–3</td></tr></tbody></table>

Group stage

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The draw for the group stage was held on 3 November 2025, 12:00 GMT (14:00 local time, UTC+2), in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 16 winners of the second round of qualifying rounds were drawn into four groups of four.

The teams were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown next to every team). Each group contained one team from each of Pot 1, Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4, and each team was allocated to the positions in their group according to their pot.

Team	Pts
Al Ahly	78
Mamelodi Sundowns	62
Espérance de Tunis	57
RS Berkane	52
Team	Pts
Simba	48
Pyramids	47
Al Hilal	34
Young Africans	34
Team	Pts
Petro de Luanda	27
AS FAR	21
MC Alger	18
Rivers United	14
Team	Pts
JS Kabylie	13
Stade Malien	10.5
Saint-Éloi Lupopo	3
Power Dynamos	—

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PYR	RSB	PDFC	RUFC
1	Pyramids	6	5	1	0	14	2	+12	16	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–0	3–1	3–0
2	RS Berkane	6	3	1	2	8	6	+2	10		0–0	—	3–0	3–0
3	Power Dynamos	6	2	1	3	4	7	−3	7			0–1	2–0	—	0–0
4	Rivers United	6	0	1	5	2	13	−11	1		1–4	1–2	0–1	—

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AHL	ASFAR	YNG	JSK
1	Al Ahly	6	2	4	0	8	3	+5	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	2–0	4–1
2	AS FAR	6	2	3	1	3	2	+1	9		1–1	—	1–0	1–0
3	Young Africans	6	2	2	2	5	4	+1	8			1–1	1–0	—	3–0
4	JS Kabylie	6	0	3	3	1	8	−7	3		0–0	0–0	0–0	—

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HIL	MSFC	MCA	FCSEL
1	Al Hilal	6	3	2	1	9	7	+2	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	2–1	1–0
2	Mamelodi Sundowns	6	2	3	1	9	6	+3	9		2–2	—	2–0	3–1
3	MC Alger	6	2	1	3	5	6	−1	7			2–1	0–0	—	2–0
4	Saint-Éloi Lupopo	6	1	2	3	4	8	−4	5		1–1	1–1	1–0	—

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SML	EST	APL	SSC
1	Stade Malien	6	3	2	1	5	2	+3	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	2–0	2–1
2	Espérance de Tunis	6	2	3	1	6	4	+2	9		0–0	—	2–0	1–0
3	Petro de Luanda	6	1	3	2	3	6	−3	6			0–0	1–1	—	1–1
4	Simba	6	1	2	3	5	7	−2	5		1–0	2–2	0–1	—

Knockout stage

2025–26 CAF Champions League

The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

• In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners were seeded, and the four group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association could be drawn against each other. • In the draws for the semi-finals, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw.

Group	Winners	Runners-up
A	Pyramids	RS Berkane
B	Al Ahly	AS FAR
C	Al Hilal	Mamelodi Sundowns
D	Stade Malien	Espérance de Tunis

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 17 February 2026, 12:00 GMT (12:00 local time, UTC+2), at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

	Quarter-finals			Semi-finals			Final
	Espérance de Tunis	1	3	4
	Al Ahly	0	2	2
		Espérance de Tunis
			Mamelodi Sundowns
	Mamelodi Sundowns	3	0	3
	Stade Malien	0	2	2
		SF1 winner
			SF2 winner
	AS FAR	1	2	3
	Pyramids	1	1	2
		AS FAR
			RS Berkane
	RS Berkane	1	1	2
	Al Hilal	1	0	1

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
RS Berkane	2–1	Al Hilal	1–1	1–0
Espérance de Tunis	4–2	Al Ahly	1–0	3–2
Mamelodi Sundowns	3–2	Stade Malien	3–0	0–2
AS FAR	3–2	Pyramids	1–1	2–1

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Espérance de Tunis	SF1	Mamelodi Sundowns	10–11 Apr	17–18 Apr
AS FAR	SF2	RS Berkane	10–11 Apr	17–18 Apr

Final

The first leg will be played on 15 May, and the second leg will be played on 24 May 2026.

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
SF1 winner	F	SF2 winner	15 May	24 May

Top goalscorers

2025–26 CAF Champions League

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Trézéguet	Al Ahly	2	1	2					1		6
2	Abdel Raouf	Al Hilal	1	1	2				1			5
3	Mounir Chouiar	RS Berkane	1	1					1	1					4
Ahmed Atef	Pyramids	3			1