CAF Champions League Group Stage Starts in Late November

The CAF Champions League group stage starts on 27–29 November 2026. Sixteen clubs will be split into four groups of four, with the top two moving on to the quarter-finals.

Not all 16 are known yet. The second preliminary round is still to come, so anyone following the tournament or its markets through vippari will have a better picture once the October ties are finished.

Six group games between November and January

The second preliminary round starts on 16–18 October, with return legs on 23–25 October.

The 16 winners reach the group stage. Each club plays the other three teams in its section twice.

The dates are:

• Matchday 1: 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

The quarter-finals begin on 26–28 February 2027, followed by the second legs on 5–7 March. The final is scheduled between 9 and 31 May 2027.

The Champions League winner receives $6 million. The CAF Confederation Cup champion gets $4 million.

Sundowns return with the trophy

Mamelodi Sundowns are the defending champions after beating AS FAR 2–1 on aggregate in the 2025/26 final. They won the first leg 1–0 and drew 1–1 in Rabat.

It was their second African title, ten years after the first in 2016.

Sundowns, Espérance de Tunis and RS Berkane were given byes through the first preliminary round because of their ranking. All three join in the second round.

There are plenty of familiar names behind them. Zamalek and Pyramids represent Egypt. Orlando Pirates are another South African contender, while Simba and Young Africans are both involved for Tanzania.

Al Hilal, ASEC Mimosas and MC Alger remain in the competition as well.

Some will be gone before the group draw.

Seeding is only part of the picture

CAF uses results from its interclub competitions over the previous five seasons to seed clubs for the group stage.

The ranking matters, but so does the calendar. Three matchdays are played before Christmas and another three in January. Domestic football continues in between, and long away trips can come only a few days apart.

January now brings another possibility.

CAF has changed its registration rules, allowing a player to represent more than one club during the same interclub season. A footballer who changes clubs in January is therefore no longer automatically cup-tied for the knockout rounds.

That could matter for teams still involved after Matchday 6.

Betting markets need the group draw first

Before the groups are known, reputation only goes so far.

A difficult fourth seed, a long away trip or a strong home side can change the shape of a section. Qualifying form helps, but a two-leg tie is not the same as six matches spread over two months.

Group-winner and top-two markets should be easier to judge after the draw. The first few rounds will also give more useful information for goals and both-teams-to-score markets.

For users checking fixtures and match markets through vippari mobil giriş guncel, the short gap between rounds is worth noting. There are three matchdays before the end of December and three more in January, leaving little time for injuries, rotation or poor domestic form to settle.

Matchday 6 may look different again. One club might need only a draw. Another could already be eliminated.

The same fixture can therefore carry a very different risk by the final round.

October decides the final 16

Sundowns, Espérance and RS Berkane still have to clear the second preliminary round. So do Zamalek, Pyramids, Orlando Pirates, Simba and Young Africans.

By 25 October, most of the uncertainty should be gone.

After that, the field drops to 16 and the competition settles into six group matches running from late November to January.

Sundowns start with the trophy and last season’s $6 million prize. Everyone else still has to make it to November.

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