CAF Champions League Draw: Sundowns Get Bye, Pirates Handed Mauritian Test
Defending CAF Champions League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and domestic league winners Orlando Pirates have discovered their paths in the 2026/27 continental campaign following Thursday’s preliminary round draw in Cairo.
Sundowns—who recently became the first South African club to win the CAF Champions League title twice—secured a first-round bye as one of the continent’s top three ranked clubs alongside Tunisia’s Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Morocco’s RS Berkane.
Masandawana will enter directly in the Second Preliminary Round against the winner of the First Preliminary Round tie between Angola’s Wiliete Benguela and Seychelles’ Foresters FC.
Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates will start their campaign in the First Preliminary Round against Mauritian champions La Cure Waves. The Buccaneers will aim for a stronger run this season after being knocked out in the second preliminary round by Congolese side Éloi Lupopo last term.
Winners from the first round will advance to the Second Preliminary Round to face the exempted top-ranked clubs. As highest-ranked seeds, Sundowns, Espérance, and Berkane will host the decisive second legs of their respective second-round ties.
Key Tournament Schedule:
- First Preliminary Round: First legs on September 4–6; second legs on September 11–15.
- Second Preliminary Round: First legs on October 16–18; second legs on October 23–25.
- Group Stage Start: Matchday 1 kicks off November 27–29.
The 16 aggregate winners from the Second Preliminary Round will advance to the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League group stage.
