The 2026–27 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes, will be the 63rd season of Africa's premier football club tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 31st season under the CAF Champions League title.
Mamelodi Sundowns are the defending champions, having defeated AS FAR 2–1 on aggregate in the 2026 final to win their second continental title.
The winners of the competition will automatically qualify for the 2027–28 CAF Champions League, and will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2026–27 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2027 CAF Super Cup. They will also qualify for the 2027 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and are expected to qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, subject to the final qualification regulations issued by FIFA.
Association team allocation All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League. The 12 highest-ranked associations according to the CAF 5-year ranking are eligible to enter two teams in the competition.
The reigning CAF Champions League title holders are also automatically entitled to enter the following edition. However, no association may normally be represented by more than two clubs. As a result, a maximum of 68 teams could theoretically enter the tournament, although this number has never been reached.
For the 2026–27 edition, CAF used the 2021–2026 CAF 5-year ranking. The ranking calculated points for each association based on its clubs' performances in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup during the previous five seasons.
The points awarded for each stage were as follows:
CAF Champions LeagueCAF Confederation CupWinners 6 points 5 pointsRunners-up 5 points 4 pointsLosing semi-finalists 4 points 3 pointsLosing quarter-finalists 3 points 2 pointsThird place in group 2 points 1 pointFourth place in group 1 point 0.5 point
The points were multiplied by a coefficient according to the season as follows:
2025–26: × 5 2024–25: × 4 2023–24: × 3 2022–23: × 2 2021–22: × 1
The twelve associations eligible to enter two clubs were Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Mali, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Teams CAF initially confirmed 61 teams from 48 associations for the competition. Bold received a bye to the second round. The other teams entered the first round.
Associations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking. Associations with a ranking score have their position and points indicated in parentheses.
+ Associations eligible to enter two teams Association Rank Team Qualification method 1 Zamalek2025–26 Egyptian Premier League champions Pyramids2025–26 Egyptian Premier League runners-up 2 MAS Fes2025–26 Botola Pro champions RS Berkane2025–26 Botola Pro runners-up 3 MC Alger 2025–26 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions JS Saoura 2025–26 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up 4 Orlando Pirates2025–26 South African Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns2025–26 CAF Champions League champions2025–26 South African Premiership runners-up 5 Young Africans 2025–26 Tanzanian Premier League champions Simba 2025–26 Tanzanian Premier League runners-up 6 Club Africain 2025–26 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 champions Espérance de Tunis 2025–26 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up 7 Petro de Luanda 2025–26 Girabola champions Wiliete 2025–26 Girabola runners-up 8 TP Mazembe 2025–26 Linafoot champions Aigles du Congo 2025–26 Linafoot runners-up 9 Al Hilal 2025–26 Sudan Premier League champions Al Merrikh 2025–26 Sudan Premier League runners-up 10 Djoliba 2025–26 Malian Première Division champions Stade Malien 2025–26 Malian Première Division runners-up 11 ASEC Mimosas 2025–26 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 champions San Pedro 2025–26 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up 12 Rangers International 2025–26 Nigeria Premier Football League champions Rivers United 2025–26 Nigeria Premier Football League runners-up
+ Associations eligible to enter one team Association Rank Team Qualification method 13 Swehly 2025–26 Libyan Premier League champions 15 Power Dynamos 2025–26 Zambia Super League champions 16 Medeama 2025–26 Ghana Premier League champions 17 Horoya 2025–26 Guinée Championnat National champions 18 Gaborone United 2025–26 Botswana Premier League champions 18 FC Nouadhibou 2025–26 Super D1 champions 20 Teungueth FC 2025–26 Ligue 1 champions 21 Gor Mahia 2025–26 Kenyan Premier League champions 21 Colombe Sportive 2025–26 Elite One champions 23 UD Songo 2025 Moçambola champions 23 ASCK 2025–26 Togolese Championnat National champions 23 Vipers 2025–26 Uganda Premier League champions 26 Nsingizini Hotspurs 2025–26 Premier League of Eswatini champions 26 ASN Nigelec 2025–26 Super Ligue champions—AS Sobemap2025–26 Benin Premier League champions — Aigle Noir 2025–26 Burundi Ligue A champions — Rahimo 2025–26 Burkinabé Premier League champions — Aiglons N'Djamena Chadian Football Federation entrant — Fomboni 2025–26 Comoros Premier League champions — AS Port 2025–26 Djibouti Premier League champions — 15 de Agosto 2025–26 Equatoguinean Primera División champions — Sidaama Buna 2025–26 Ethiopian Premier League champions — Mangasport 2025–26 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions — Medina United 2025–26 GFA League First Division champions — Canchungo 2025–26 Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau champions — Lijabatho 2025–26 Lesotho Premier League champions — CFFA 2025–26 Malagasy Pro League champions — Mighty Wanderers 2025 Super League of Malawi champions — La Cure Waves 2025–26 Mauritian Premier League champions — African Stars 2025–26 Namibia Premiership champions — APR 2025–26 Rwanda Premier League champions — Foresters 2025–26 Seychelles Premier League champions — Star Sport Academy 2025–26 Sierra Leone National Premier League runners-up — Heegan Somali Football Federation entrant — El Merreikh Bentiu 2025–26 South Sudan Premier League champions — KVZ FC 2025–26 Zanzibar Premier League champions — Scottland 2025 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions
Associations which did not enter a team
Schedule CAF announced the competition calendar on 2 July 2026.
The exact dates of the final and the dates of the qualifying and group-stage draws had not been announced as of 27 July 2026.
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg Qualifying rounds First round 6 August 2026 4–6 September 2026 11–13 September 2026 Second round 16–18 October 2026 23–25 October 2026 Group stage Matchday 1 To be confirmed 27–29 November 2026 Matchday 2 4–6 December 2026 Matchday 3 18–20 December 2026 Matchday 4 8–10 January 2027 Matchday 5 15–17 January 2027 Matchday 6 22–24 January 2027 Knockout stage Quarter-finals To be confirmed 26–28 February 2027 5–7 March 2027 Semi-finals 9–11 April 2027 16–18 April 2027 Final 9–31 May 2027
Qualifying rounds
First round
Second round
See also 2026–27 CAF Confederation Cup
References
External links TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, CAFonline.com