CAF Confederation Cup
Moroccan armed forces club FAR favourites to lift Confederation Cup
Moroccan armed forces club and former African champions, FAR Rabat will be the team to beat in the CAF Confederation Cup knockout stage this season.
Coached by former France indoor football international Fernando da Cruz, the Black Devils have won seven and drawn four of 12 qualifying and group matches en route to the quarter-finals.
The 22 goals they scored have been shared among 13 players with the four of Cape Verde international Diney Borges making him the unlikely leading scorer as he is a centre-back.
FAR are the only quarter-finalists this season in the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League who have won a CAF competition.
They achieved two firsts for Morocco by the winning the African Cup of Champions Clubs — later renamed the CAF Champions League — in 1985 and the Confederation Cup 20 years later.
But after finishing runners-up in the Confederation Cup a year after winning it, FAR faded as a force in Africa while Casablanca clubs Raja and Wydad won CAF competitions.
Last year, the Rabat club did not even make the group stage of the Confederation Cup, losing home and away to JS Kabylie of Algeria in the second qualifying round.
They return to Algeria this weekend for the first leg of a quarter-final against USM Alger who, along with FAR and Pyramids of Egypt, have previously reached the knockout stage.
The other hopefuls — Marumo Gallants of South Africa, US Monastir of Tunisia, ASEC Mimosas of the Ivory Coast, Rivers United of Nigeria and Young Africans of Tanzania — are first-time qualifiers.
Should FAR eliminate USM, whose line-up includes 2022 African Nations Championship leading scorer Aymen Mahious, they would confront Monastir or ASEC for a place in the final.
The Tunisian and Ivorian sides have lost only once each in eight African outings and boast regular scorers in Boubacar Traore and Aubin Kramo respectively.
Pyramids are competing in the Confederation Cup for the fourth straight season having reached the 2020 final, the semi-finals the following year and the 2022 quarter-finals.
Their multi-national line-up includes veteran Tunisian Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, the leading scorer in the competition with six goals, including a hat-trick.
They face Marumo, who have won seven of 10 matches in Africa but only five of 26 in the South African Premiership, leaving them battling to avoid relegation.
Ranga Chivaviro stars for the South African outfit, with his five Confederation Cup goals placing him joint second behind Ben Youssef in the Golden Boot race.
Ghanaian Paul Acquah shares second place with Chivaviro and Rivers will rely heavily on him against Young Africans in their quest to become the first title-holders from Nigeria.
-AFP
A high-stakes Moroccan derby between Olympique de Safi and Wydad Casablanca will headline the quarter-final stage of the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup, following Tuesday’s draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), mapped out the path to the final for the eight remaining contenders, setting up intriguing North African and Central African showdowns.
All-Moroccan Clash Guarantees Semi-Final Spot
Olympique de Safi will host Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of their tie, ensuring that Morocco will have at least one representative in the semi-finals. The clash pits two sides familiar with each other domestically, adding extra intensity to what is already a decisive knockout encounter.
Egyptian and Algerian Heavyweights in Action
Egyptian giants Zamalek SC will begin their campaign away to Congo’s AS Otoho, a tie that sees the five-time African champions seeking another continental crown.
Meanwhile, Al Masry SC will host Algeria’s CR Belouizdad in the first leg, in what promises to be a tightly contested North Africa battle.
In another compelling fixture, AS Maniema Union of the Democratic Republic of Congo will take on Algeria’s USM Alger, as the Congolese side looks to capitalise on home advantage in the opening leg.
Quarter-Final Fixtures
- QF1: Al Masry (Egypt) vs CR Belouizdad (Algeria)
- QF2: Olympique de Safi (Morocco) vs Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
- QF3: AS Otoho (Congo) vs Zamalek SC (Egypt)
- QF4: AS Maniema Union (DR Congo) vs USM Alger (Algeria)
The quarter-final first legs are scheduled for 15 March, with return fixtures set for 22 March.
Semi-Final Pathway Confirmed
The draw also determined the semi-final bracket:
- SF1: Winner of AS Maniema Union vs USM Alger will host the first leg against the winner of Olympique de Safi vs Wydad Casablanca.
- SF2: Winner of Al Masry vs CR Belouizdad will host the first leg against the winner of AS Otoho vs Zamalek SC.
The semi-finals will be played on 12 April (first leg) and 19 April (second leg).
The team advancing from the semi-finals will host the first leg of the final on 9 May, with the decisive second leg scheduled for 16 May.
With regional rivalries, heavyweight pedigrees, and emerging contenders all in the mix, the knockout stage of the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup promises high drama as clubs across North and Central Africa vie for continental glory.
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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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CAF Confederation Cup
Zamalek, Kaizer Chiefs Drawn Together as CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Unveiled
The draw for the group phase of this season’s African Confederation Cup conducted in Johannesburg on Monday:
Group A: USM Alger (Algeria), Djoliba (Mali), Olympique Safi (Morocco), San Pedro (Ivory Coast)
Group B: Azam (Tanzania), Maniema Union (DR Congo), Nairobi United (Kenya), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
Group C: Chabab Belouizdad (Algeria), AS Otoho (Congo) Singida Black Stars (Tanzania), Stellenbosch (South Africa)
Group D: Al Masry (Egypt), Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa), Zamalek (Egypt), Zesco United (Zambia)
The top two finishers in each of the four groups advance to the quarter-finals in March.
The group phase starts on Sunday November 23 and will continue through to mid-February.
-Reuters
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