CAF Champions League 2025-2026 preliminary round draw released (Full List)

Femi Fabunmi 
The journey to African club football’s most prestigious title is officially underway following the draw for the First Preliminary Round of the 2025-2026 CAF Champions League, held on Saturday.

This stage sets the tone for a highly competitive campaign, featuring a blend of seasoned contenders, emerging forces, and debutants. Two of Africa’s top clubs Al Ahly of Egypt and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa  are notably absent from this round, granted byes into the Second Preliminary Round due to their top-tier CAF rankings.

First Preliminary Round ties will be contested over two legs, scheduled between September 19–21 and September 26–28, 2025.

The 30 winners will progress to the next round in mid-October, where Al Ahly and Sundowns await alongside them for a spot in the lucrative group stage.

A total of 60 teams were entered into this stage, drawn into 30 matchups.

Among the headline ties, APR FC of Rwanda face Egyptian giants Pyramids FC, while Sudan’s Al Hilal go head-to-head with Jamus FC in a Nile Valley derby. Tunisian clubs Espérance and US Monastir both begin their campaigns on the road, taking on AS FAN of Niger and East End Lions of Sierra Leone respectively.

Other notable fixtures include Zambia’s Power Dynamos against Ivorian heavyweights ASEC Mimosas, and a southern African clash between South Africa’s Orlando Pirates and Lesotho’s Lioli FC.

Full Preliminary Round Draw:

• Ethiopian Insurance (Ethiopia) vs Mlandege (Zanzibar)
• APR FC (Rwanda) vs Pyramids FC (Egypt)
• Mogadishu City (Somalia) vs Kenya Police (Kenya)
• Jamus FC (South Sudan) vs Al Hilal (Sudan)
• Rahimo FC (Burkina Faso) vs Mangasport (Gabon)
• AS FAN (Niger) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
• Dadje FC (Benin) vs Libya 1 (Libya)
• ASCK (Togo) vs RS Berkane (Morocco)
• East End Lions (Sierra Leone) vs US Monastir (Tunisia)
• Goldstars (Ghana) vs JS Kabylie (