Champions League: Sundowns, Zamalek and Mazembe kick off on October 16, $6 million at stake

The second preliminary round of the CAF Champions League opens this Friday, October 16, 2026. According to the Confederation of African Football, the first leg matches will be played from October 16 to 18 and the return legs from October 23 to 25: sixteen winners will join the group stage, which is expected at the end of November.

From Bentiu to Kigali, the entire continent on the pitch

The Sport-Flash website announces fifteen matches scheduled for the day of October 16 alone. Three kick-off times have been confirmed: Al Merreikh Bentiu, a club from South Sudan, hosts Egypt's Pyramids FC at 3:30 p.m.; Star Sport Academy from Sierra Leone welcomes Renaissance de Berkane, and APR FC from Kigali challenges Zamalek at 6:00 p.m. The table drawn up by CAF shows the geographical scope of the event: the Andoharanofotsy Training Center (Madagascar) against Young Africans from Dar es Salaam, Scottland FC (Zimbabwe) against Petro Atlético from Luanda, Teungueth FC from Rufisque against Colombe du Dja et Lobo, Horoya AC against Al-Merrikh from Omdurman, Enugu Rangers against MC Alger, and TP Mazembe against Club Africain.

The title holder starts in Angola

Mamelodi Sundowns, whom CAF presents as the title holder, begin their campaign on the pitch of Wiliete SC in Benguela. The South Africans won the continental crown at the expense of AS FAR Rabat, following a 1-0 first-leg victory at Loftus Versfeld thanks to an Aubrey Modiba free kick in May 2026, according to Hespress. Along with Espérance de Tunis and RS Berkane, they were among the three clubs exempted from the first round.

A record check and aid for smaller clubs

CAF has announced a record prize of $6 million for the winner of the 2026-2027 edition. Above all, the governing body will pay $100,000 to each club eliminated during the preliminary rounds to cover travel and logistics costs. This is not just an accounting detail: intra-African airfares and long-haul travel weigh heavily on the budgets of teams from Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritania, or South Sudan, who face clubs with ten times their resources.

According to the APA agency, 58 clubs were involved in the race for the second round. The twenty-nine survivors from the first round, added to the three exempted teams, make up the thirty-two teams at this penultimate step before the group stage.