Orlando Pirates face tough CAF Champions League group-stage draw

Orlando Pirates will enter Wednesday’s CAF Champions League group-stage draw among the lower-ranked teams, leaving them with a difficult route in the continent’s premier club competition.

The Buccaneers are returning to the group stage and will represent South Africa after Mamelodi Sundowns suffered a shock exit on Friday.

Pirates won the competition in 1995, when it was still known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs, but their current position in the continental rankings reflects a decline in their standing among Africa’s leading clubs.

CAF uses its five-year ranking system to determine the seeding for its inter-club competitions, with teams’ recent results forming the basis of the calculations.

Abdeslam Ouaddou’s side are ranked 15th in the latest standings and will therefore be placed in pot three. They are 10th among the 16 teams remaining in the competition, with nine clubs still in contention ranked above them.

Pot positions confirmed

With Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly no longer involved, Tunisian giants Esperance move into first place in this season’s rankings.

Esperance are joined in pot one by RS Berkane, Rulani Mokwena’s Pyramids and Zamalek.

Pot two contains Al Hilal, Simba, Young Africans and Petro de Luanda. MC Alger lead pot three, ahead of Pirates, while Noaudhibou and Horoya complete that section.

Club Africain, Wiliete, Colombe Sportive and Maghreb Fez are the four teams in pot four.

Potential North African assignments

The draw could send Pirates on as many as three trips to North Africa, depending on the teams selected from the different pots.

They are guaranteed to face a side from Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt in pot one. Their pot two opponent will come from Sudan, Tanzania or Angola, while the pot four fixture could be against a team from Tunisia, Angola, Cameroon or Morocco.

The group-stage campaign is scheduled to run from 27 November 2026 to 24 January 2027.