Sport · Pan-African

CAF Champions League draw: Pirates get Simba and Berkane as holders Sundowns watch from outside

Wednesday’s group-stage draw in Cairo confirmed a Champions League without the defending champions, record winners Al Ahly or TP Mazembe. Orlando Pirates carry South Africa’s hopes into Group C; play starts on 27 November with a record US$6 million for the winners.

Aerial view of the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam — File: Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar es Salaam — home venue for Simba and Young Africans in continental play (2016). Photo: Mxcarter / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

By Sipho Dlamini · Johannesburg · Sport
Published 29 Oct 2026, 12:15 Africa/Johannesburg

JOHANNESBURG — The 2026/27 CAF Champions League will be played without its holders. Wednesday’s group-stage draw in Cairo confirmed a field of 16 that has no place for Mamelodi Sundowns, record 12-time winners Al Ahly or five-time champions TP Mazembe — and that leaves Orlando Pirates as South Africa’s only representative.

The four groups

According to the official CAF draw:

Group A: Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia), Petro Atlético (Angola), FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania), Wiliete SC (Angola)
Group B: Zamalek (Egypt), Young Africans (Tanzania), MC Alger (Algeria), Club Africain (Tunisia)
Group C: RS Berkane (Morocco), Simba SC (Tanzania), Orlando Pirates (South Africa), Colombe Sportive (Cameroon)
Group D: Pyramids FC (Egypt), Al Hilal Omdurman (Sudan), Horoya AC (Guinea), MAS de Fès (Morocco)

How the big names fell

Sundowns, who had played in the previous 11 group stages, were knocked out in the second preliminary round by Wiliete SC, an Angolan club founded in 2018. After a goalless first leg, the tie finished 1-1 in Pretoria and Wiliete went through on away goals, AfricaSoccer reported. Al Ahly missed out by failing to finish in a qualifying place in Egypt’s league and will play in the Confederation Cup instead; Mazembe lost 2-1 on aggregate to Club Africain. Morocco’s Wydad, Raja and last season’s finalists AS FAR are also out, though Berkane and MAS de Fès keep Moroccan football in the competition.

Group C, the South African read

For Pirates, Group C means trips to Berkane and to Dar es Salaam to face Simba, two clubs with long recent runs in CAF competition. CAF’s own preview picks out Simba against Pirates as the group’s most anticipated tie. Kick Off notes that Group D puts former Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena’s Pyramids — the 2024/25 champions — against MAS de Fès, who have South Africans Tshegofatso Mabasa and Devin Titus in their squad.

The Confederation Cup draw, also on Wednesday, put Al Ahly in Group A with Raja Club Athletic, ASKO de Kara and Primeiro de Agosto, and South Africa’s Durban City in Group B with AS FAR, Azam and Al Ahli Tripoli, Elbotola reported.

The schedule from CAF: Matchday 1 on 27–29 November, Matchday 2 on 4–6 December, then 18–20 December, 8–10 January, 15–17 January and 22–24 January 2027, when the eight quarter-finalists are settled.

Sources: CAF, 29 Oct 2026; AfricaSoccer, 28 Oct 2026; Kick Off; Elbotola, 28 Oct 2026.

— AB24 · Johannesburg