CAF Champions League 2026–27 Preliminary Draw Date Announced

Rabat — The roadmap for Africa’s flagship club competition is starting to take shape.

CAF has pencilled in August 6 as the tentative date for the preliminary draw of the 2026–27 CAF Champions League, according to Moroccan outlet El Botola, which cites an official source within the Confederation’s Club Competitions Committee. Cairo, the administrative heart of African football, is set to host the ceremony.

The timing is no accident. CAF plans to hold the draw only once the club registration window shuts and national federations have signed off on their clubs’ squads. No loose ends, no late surprises — the teams that go into the pots should be the ones that actually take the field.

Behind the scenes, there has been a push to reshape the competition. The Egyptian Football Association tabled a proposal to expand the number of clubs in CAF’s interclub tournaments, a move that would have opened the door to more representatives and a bulked-up calendar.

CAF has said no.

El Botola reports that the Competitions Committee has opted to keep the current format in place for 2026–27, resisting calls for expansion and sticking with the structure that has defined recent editions. For now, the Champions League will remain a lean, elite contest rather than a wider, more crowded field.

Moroccan Clubs

For Morocco, the stakes are clear. RS Berkane and Maghreb de Fès will fly the flag in next season’s CAF Champions League, stepping onto the continental stage with ambitions that stretch far beyond the opening rounds. Both clubs will drop into the preliminary draw knowing that a kind or cruel pairing in August can shape an entire campaign.

Those early balls pulled in Cairo will decide the first hurdles on the long road to the group stage — and, for some, the first sign of whether a dream of African glory is about to gather momentum or stall before it even begins.