The 2026–27 African interclub season is set to begin shortly. CAF announced on Sunday that the preliminary round draws for the 2026–27 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup will be held at its headquarters in Cairo on Thursday, August 6.
The CAF Champions League preliminary round draw is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. Morocco time (2:00 p.m. in Egypt), with the Confederation Cup draw following at 1:00 p.m. Morocco time.
Following the draw, the preliminary rounds of both competitions will commence in September 2026.
The first preliminary round first-leg matches will be played from September 4 to 6, with the return legs scheduled for September 11 to 13. The second preliminary round first legs will take place from October 16 to 18, while the return fixtures are set for October 23 to 25.
Qualified teams will then progress to the group stage, which will run from November 2026 to January 2027, before the knockout rounds, scheduled from February through the end of May 2027.
Morocco’s representatives in both competitions were determined at the end of last season. In the CAF Champions League, Botola Pro champions Maghreb de Fès (MAS), who claimed their first league title in 41 years, will be joined by runners-up RS Berkane, who will make their second appearance in the CAF Champions League after finishing second in the 2025–26 Botola Pro season.
Raja Casablanca, who finished third in the league, will represent Morocco in the CAF Confederation Cup alongside AS FAR.
CAF also confirmed that the winners of the CAF Champions League will receive a prize of $6 million, while the CAF Confederation Cup winners will earn $4 million.
Clubs eliminated in the preliminary rounds will also receive a solidarity payment of $100,000. According to CAF, this measure is intended to “strengthen its support for participating clubs and continue the development of its interclub competitions.”
