CAF Champions League
Danger Signals for Nigerian Clubs at CAF Competitions
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The just concluded Nigeria Professional Football League season 2016/17 may be the last to produce three continental competitors if the trio of Plateau United, MFM and Enyimba as well as the eventual winners of the AITEO Cup failed to make appreciable impact in the 2018 CAF inter clubs competitions.
For many years now, Nigeria along with 11 other countries whose leagues are rated among the top 12 in the continent have the privilege of fielding two clubs in each of CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.
The top 12 are decided based on a five-year ranking conducted since 2004. CAF uses this to determine the number of clubs each affiliated national league association is eligible to enter in both Champions league and Confederation Cup for a particular term.
The 12 best ranked national league associations in Africa were privileged to field two clubs in both CAF Champions league and Confederation Cup. Sports Village Square has gathered that based on the current ranking which CAF has not officially released, the poor performances of Enugu Rangers, FC IfeanyiUbah, Nasarawa United and to some extent, Rivers United in the CAF inter clubs competitions this season, Nigeria is dangerously ranked 12th – the last of among countries that can have multiple entries.
While Nigeria slipped in the football leagues’ ranking in the continent, Zambia, for instance jumped six steps up the ladder from joint 14th to ninth. Nigeria remains stagnant at 12th.
It now means that Zambia will for the first time ever have four clubs in the continents at the same time.
Poor performance by the Nigerian clubs in the coming season may see the country dropping out of the top 12 and only the NPFL champion will then be eligible to feature in the CAF Champions League.
Egypt remains top of the ranking for the 2018 CAF football league season. The country, which teams have dominated the CAF competitions, has 85 points as against Nigeria’s laughable 13. Tunisia with 76 points ranks next while DR Congo follows with 70 points.
In addition, Sports Village Square gathered that South Africa’s Danny Jordan, a CAF executive committee member is pushing for the top leagues like Egypt, Tunisia DR Congo, Algeria and South Africa which are among the top five should henceforth have four clubs in each of the two CAF clubs’ competitions. In essence, while Nigerian league may produce just one continental campaigner, leagues of each of those countries will each have eight clubs.
This is following a pattern already established by UEFA which allocates multiple slots for top European leagues like the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga and the Bundesliga.
“As you can see for both Egypt and South Africa they (CAF) have allocated four places in the Champions League and that is on the basis that these teams are strong, thriving and truly professional teams,” a Zambian football blog, quoted Jordan as saying.
In the ranking of top 40 clubs in Africa, only two Nigerian clubs, Enyimba in the 21st position and Sunshine Stars of Akure (32nd) are listed.
CAF Inter-Clubs Ranking For 2018
| Rank | Associations | 2012 (× 1) |
2013 (× 2) |
2014 (× 3) |
2015 (× 4) |
2016 (× 5) |
Total
Points |
|||||
| CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | |||
| 1 | Egypt | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 85 |
| 2 | Tunisia | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 76 |
| 3 | DR Congo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 70 |
| 4 | Algeria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 62 |
| 5 | South Africa | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 45 |
| 6 | Morocco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 41 |
| 7 | Sudan | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 8 | Cote d’Ivoire | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| 9 | Zambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| 10 | Congo | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 11 | Mali | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 | Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| 13 | Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 14 | Libya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 15 | Ghana | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 16 | Tanzania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | Angola | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | Ethiopia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will conduct the quarter-final draws for the 2025/26 editions of its two flagship interclub competitions — the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup — on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo.
The CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final draw is scheduled to begin at 13:00 Cairo time (11:00 GMT), followed by the CAF Champions League quarter-final draw at 14:00 Cairo time (12:00 GMT).
The ceremonies will be broadcast live on CAF’s official YouTube platform, CAF TV, allowing fans across the continent and beyond to follow proceedings in real time.
Road to the Finals Takes Shape
The draws will determine not only the quarter-final pairings but also the pathway to the finals in both competitions, effectively mapping out the remaining knockout journey for Africa’s elite clubs.
With the group stages concluded, the quarter-finals mark the beginning of direct elimination football — a phase traditionally defined by tactical discipline, squad depth and mental resilience. Clubs will be keenly watching the draw to gauge potential heavyweight clashes or favourable routes to the semi-finals.
In the Champions League, former title holders and emerging contenders alike will be hoping to avoid early confrontations against continental heavyweights. Similarly, in the Confederation Cup, where competitive balance has grown in recent seasons, the draw could produce intriguing North-South or West-East showdowns.
Strategic Importance for Clubs
Beyond sporting prestige, progression to the latter stages of CAF competitions carries significant financial incentives, enhanced continental ranking points and increased global visibility. With African club football enjoying expanded broadcast reach and commercial partnerships, success in these tournaments has become both a sporting and economic objective.
Hosting the draws at the Egyptian FA headquarters in Cairo reinforces the city’s status as a nerve centre of African football administration, as clubs await clarity on their next assignments in what promises to be a decisive knockout phase of the 2025/26 campaign.
All eyes will now turn to Cairo as Africa’s road to continental glory becomes clearer.
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Moroccan side RS Berkane delivered a commanding 3–0 victory over Rivers United FC to book their place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Berkane imposed themselves early and broke the deadlock in the 35th minute when Youssef Mehri fired into the bottom corner following a swift attacking move.
The hosts doubled their lead seven minutes later as Paul Valère Bassène finished clinically after being played through by Mounir Chouiar, leaving Rivers United with a mountain to climb before halftime.
The contest was effectively settled eight minutes into the second half. Bassène grabbed his second of the night in the 53rd minute, converting from close range after a corner to put the result beyond doubt.
Berkane maintained control for the remainder of the match, limiting Rivers United to speculative efforts and half-chances before comfortably seeing out the encounter.
With the results, Pyramids FC finish top of Group A, while RS Berkane join them in the knockout phase as runners-up, bringing the group stage to a decisive conclusion.
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Reigning CAF Champions League holders Pyramids FC signed off their group-stage campaign in style with a 3–1 victory over Power Dynamos FC on Matchday 6 to secure top spot in Group A.
The Egyptian side made a bright start and went ahead in the 16th minute when Mostafa Ziko rose highest to head home from a corner, underlining their early dominance.
Power Dynamos responded almost immediately. Frederick Mulambia restored parity a minute later, finishing from close range after a well-worked cross to briefly unsettle the hosts.
However, Pyramids regained control midway through the first half. In the 33rd minute, Youssef Obama reacted quickest inside the penalty area to restore the lead, sending the defending champions into the break 2–1 ahead.
The decisive moment came in the 59th minute when Ewerton unleashed a superb right-footed strike from outside the box that nestled into the bottom corner, extending the advantage to 3–1.
Despite late substitutions and sporadic pressure from the visitors, Pyramids managed proceedings comfortably to claim all three points and finish the group stage at the summit.
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