Cairo will host the 2026/27 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Group Stage draw on Wednesday, 28 October, at 15h00 local time (12h00 GMT) at the Egyptian Football Association Headquarters. Sixteen clubs from across Africa will learn their group-stage opponents, setting the stage for one of the continent's most eagerly anticipated club competitions.

The biggest story of the qualifying campaign

The standout headline from the preliminary rounds is the elimination of defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns by Angola's Wiliete SC, who will make their Group Stage debut. South Africa's flag will instead be carried by Orlando Pirates — crowned African champions in 1995 and finalists in 2013 — returning to the Group Stage for the first time since 2024/25 after winning their first domestic league title since 2011/12.

The established powerhouses

Espérance Sportive de Tunis lead the field in continental pedigree. The four-time African champions have appeared in nine continental finals and will make their 25th Group Stage appearance — their 11th in succession — having advanced beyond the group phase in each of their previous 10 campaigns. They also reached the final in 2023/24, though their latest qualification was far from straightforward: a penalty shootout was required to eliminate Libya's Swehly SC after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Five-time champions Zamalek return alongside MC Alger, who won the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1976 and are approaching the 50th anniversary of that triumph. MC Alger produced one of the qualifying rounds' most dramatic recoveries, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Nigeria's Rangers International with three unanswered goals in Algiers to progress 3-2 on aggregate. This will be their sixth Group Stage appearance in the modern era.

Al Hilal Omdurman of Sudan make their 15th overall Group Stage appearance and their eighth in succession — one of the competition's longest active streaks. The two-time African finalists, who reached the title decider in 1987 and 1992, advanced through qualifying without conceding a single goal against Burundi's Aigle Noir and Ethiopia's Sidama Bunna.

The returning contenders

Club Africain return to the Group Stage for the first time since 2018/19, having eliminated five-time African champions TP Mazembe 2-1 on aggregate. The Tunisian club made history in 1991 as the first side from their country to win the continental title, and they arrive buoyed by a domestic renaissance — ending an 11-year wait for the Tunisian league championship, their first since 2014/15. This is their third Group Stage appearance in the modern competition format.

Horoya AC of Guinea return to the Group Stage for the first time since 2021/22, making their fifth appearance at this stage. The Guinean club previously reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and 2018/19, and secured their place this time by defeating Sudan's Al Merriekh on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

The debutants and rising forces

Wiliete SC of Angola will make their Group Stage debut — the reward for eliminating defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Colombe Sportive of Cameroon will also appear at this stage for the first time, becoming only the third Cameroonian club to do so in the modern era after Canon Yaoundé and Coton Sport. Colombe won consecutive Cameroonian league titles in 2024/25 and 2025/26 and beat Senegal's Teungueth FC 3-0 on aggregate in qualifying.

MAS de Fès of Morocco make their first appearance in the modern Group Stage, becoming the seventh Moroccan club to reach this phase. Their return follows a first domestic league title since 1985, and they advanced past Côte d'Ivoire's ASEC Mimosas with a 2-1 victory in Abidjan after a 1-1 home draw, progressing 3-2 on aggregate.

FC Nouadhibou of Mauritania make their second Group Stage appearance, remaining their country's sole representatives at this level in the modern competition. After losing the first leg 2-1 to Côte d'Ivoire's FC San Pedro, Nouadhibou won the return 2-0 to advance 3-2 on aggregate, having also eliminated Uganda's Vipers SC on penalties in the previous round.

Tanzania's double representation

Tanzania will be represented by two clubs — Simba SC and Young Africans — underlining the East African nation's growing strength in continental football.

What happens next

The 16 clubs will be divided into four groups of four, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the quarter-finals when the competition resumes in November.