CAF Champions League
Nigerian Clubs Await Opponents as CAF InterClub Draw Holds Saturday
Nigeria’s four continental representatives — Remo Stars, Rivers United, Abia Warriors, and Kwara United — will discover their preliminary round opponents in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup when the draw is held this Saturday, August 9, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This marks the first time the CAF InterClub competition draws will be hosted in Tanzania, one of the co-hosts of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN).
Unlike top-seeded clubs from Morocco and Egypt, which have earned exemptions from the preliminary stages due to their superior club coefficients, Nigeria’s flagbearers are expected to feature from the opening round of matches.
CAF Confederation Cup holders RS Berkane of Morocco are among the Champions League clubs automatically exempted, along with Al Ahly of Egypt, Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia), and Petro Atlético (Angola).
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Zamalek, and Al Masry (both of Egypt) will also bypass the opening round.
CAF announced that Saturday’s draw will take place at 13h00 local time (10h00 GMT) and will be streamed live on CAF’s YouTube channel and through its official broadcast partners.
The event will be hosted at Azam Media Studios in Dar es Salaam — a nod to the growing influence of East Africa in CAF’s broadcasting strategy and audience reach. Azam joins a list of CAF’s key partners, including SuperSport, beIN Sport, and Canal+, that have hosted previous draws.
The draw officially kicks off another season of Africa’s premier club football competitions, with the Preliminary Round scheduled to begin on 19 September 2025.
The Second Preliminary Round follows on 17 October, while the Group Stage action begins on 21 November 2025. The knockout stages will commence on 13 March 2026.
The quartet of Nigerian clubs now await their fate, as they prepare to navigate what promises to be a fiercely competitive InterClub campaign.
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Nigeria’s representatives in the 2025/26 CAF Inter-Club competitions—Remo Stars, Rivers United, Abia Warriors, and Kwara United—will soon discover their opponents as the draw ceremony for both the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup is set to hold on August 12 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Remo Stars, the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions, alongside league runners-up Rivers United, will campaign in the CAF Champions League.
Abia Warriors, who finished third in the NPFL, and Kwara United, winners of the 2025 President Federation Cup, will fly Nigeria’s flag in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to release the full list of participating clubs shortly, along with the names of teams that will be exempted from the preliminary round, typically based on their five-year performance ranking in continental competitions.
According to CAF’s calendar, the first preliminary round of both competitions will take place over two legs between September 19 and 28, 2025, while the second round will run from October 17 to 26.
Successful teams will advance to the group stages, scheduled to run from November 2025 through February 2026.
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Egypt’s Pyramids claimed a deserved 2-1 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa. This led to a 3-2 aggregate success. They celebrated their first African Champions League title. This triumph occurred following the second leg of this year’s final at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Sunday.
The first leg in Pretoria finished 1-1. Fiston Mayele gave Pyramids the lead on 23 minutes. He profited from a Sundowns defensive error. Ahmed Samy doubled the advantage on 56 minutes. He scored with a header from a free-kick.
Sundowns pulled a goal back through Iqraam Rayners with 15 minutes remaining. One more goal would have given them victory in the tie on the away goals rule. However, Pyramids held firm despite heavy pressure from the visitors.
Pyramids are the fourth Egyptian side to lift the Champions League trophy after record 12-time winners Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Ismaily. Meanwhile, 2016 champions Sundowns head to this month’s Club World Cup in the United States on a low note.
-Reuters
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- 1. Pyramids aim to become the first new CAF Champions League winner since Sundowns (2016), the 13th in the modern era, and the 27th overall.
- 2. This is the 19th Champions League-era final featuring an Egyptian club. Previous teams (Al Ahly 10, Zamalek 1) have won 11 titles.
- 3. Including the pre-Champions League era, this is the 29th final for an Egyptian club, with 18 wins and 10 losses.
- 4. Pyramids have played only 1 of their last 9 matches at home but are unbeaten in their last 23 home games this season (W19 D4) and last 28 overall (W24 D4).
- 5. Pyramids scored in 22 of 23 home games this season; the only blank was a 0-0 draw vs Al Masry.
- 6.This season, they’ve won all 7 home matches, scoring 26 and conceding 6, with one clean sheet. In total, they’ve lost just 1 of 11 home matches in the competition.
- 7. Fiston Mayele leads with 8 goals in 12 matches (5 since group stage); Ibrahim Adel has 6 (also 5 post-group stage).
- 8. Ramadan Sobhi has 5 assists in 9 games (joint-most), plus 2 goals. He’s had major impact off the bench twice.
- 9. Askary Chibi has created 20 chances since the group stage — the most for Pyramids.
- 10. Pyramids have kept 3 clean sheets this season, all away, but remain dominant at home
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