CAF Confederation Cup draw sets preliminary routes for USM Alger, Raja Casablanca and Al Ahly

USM Alger, Raja Casablanca, AS FAR Rabat and Al Ahly have all been given a bye to the second preliminary round of the 2026-27 CAF Confederation Cup after Thursday’s draw.

The eight clubs exempted from the opening round because of their previous performances are Al Ahly of Egypt, Azam FC of Tanzania, USM Alger of Algeria, AS FAR of Morocco, CR Belouizdad of Algeria, Raja Casablanca of Morocco, AS Maniema Union of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs.

USM Alger, the holders, will begin their defence against either Equatorial Guinea’s Panthers FC or ASPAC of Benin. The Algerian side appear to have been handed a relatively favourable route into the competition.

CR Belouizdad will face the winner of the first-round tie between AS Douanes of Mauritania and Guinea’s Hafia FC.

Raja Casablanca will meet either Nigeria’s El Kanemi Warriors or UDIB of Guinea-Bissau. Meanwhile, AS FAR Rabat, who lost last season’s CAF Champions League final, will play the winner of AS PSI of Chad and CO Korhogo of Ivory Coast.

That means all four North African sides could face teams from West Africa as soon as they enter the competition.

Al Ahly, who move into the CAF Confederation Cup after failing to qualify for the CAF Champions League, are regarded as the leading contenders for the trophy. The Egyptian giants will travel a relatively short distance into East Africa for their opening match, against either Somalia’s Mogadishu CC or Uganda’s Kitara FC.

AS Maniema Union face a more demanding potential second-round tie. They could be drawn against Angola’s Kabuscorp if the Angolan club overcome Namibia’s UNAM in the first round.

Kabuscorp would represent a difficult opponent for the Congolese side, particularly after AS Maniema Union reached the quarter-finals of last season’s competition.

Difficult opening ties

Among the first-round fixtures, CS Sfaxien face a challenging trip to Nigeria to play Shooting Stars. The Tunisian club appear to have received one of the toughest draws of the opening stage.

Another tie pits ES Zarzis against Senegalese club Diambars, while the West African meeting between Burkina Faso’s Vitesse FC and AS Real Bamako of Mali is expected to be closely contested.

Several academy-based clubs have also learned their paths through the tournament. Ivory Coast’s AF Amadou Diallo will play Sierra Leone’s East End Lions, with a possible second-round meeting against either Shooting Stars or CS Sfaxien.

FC Diarra of Mali will take on Ghana’s Nations FC. Should they progress, they could then face AS Zam of Niger or Togo’s ASKO de Kara.

The first legs of the opening preliminary round will be played between 4 and 6 September, with the return matches scheduled for 11 to 13 September.

The second preliminary round will follow, with first legs taking place from 16 to 18 October and the return fixtures from 23 to 25 October.

At the end of the two preliminary rounds, the 16 successful clubs will advance to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup.