CAF Confirms Enugu Rangers, Rivers United For 2026/27 Champions League Qualifiers

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed Enugu Rangers and Rivers United as Nigeria’s representatives for the qualifying rounds of the 2026/27 CAF Champions League.

CAF released the list of participating clubs earlier today, July 7, confirming that Nigeria is among the 12 countries allocated two slots in the competition. The two NPFL sides will begin their continental campaign in the preliminary round alongside clubs from the other top-ranked member associations.

According to CAF, the countries with two representatives are Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Tunisia. Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns are among the confirmed entrants, along with Zamalek, TP Mazembe, Orlando Pirates, Esperance, Young Africans and Simba.

The African football body also announced that 40 member associations will each have one representative in the competition. Those clubs include Medeama of Ghana, Gor Mahia of Kenya, Horoya of Guinea, APR of Rwanda, Vipers of Uganda, Power Dynamos of Zambia and Scotland of Zimbabwe.

CAF said the representatives of Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia are yet to be confirmed because their domestic leagues have not been concluded. The current league leaders are 15 de Agosto/Leones Vegetarianos in Equatorial Guinea, Canchungo in Guinea-Bissau and Heegan in Somalia.

CAF said the first preliminary round will be played from September 4 to 6, with the return legs scheduled for September 11 to 13. The second preliminary round will take place between October 16 and 18 before the return fixtures from October 23 to 25.

The group stage will begin between November 27 and 29 and continue across six match windows before the knockout rounds. The quarter-finals are scheduled for late February and early March, while the semi-finals will be played in April. CAF has fixed the final for May 2027, with the exact date yet to be announced.