CAF has confirmed four former African internationals as Draw Assistants for the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27 Group Stage Draws, set to take place at the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) Headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.

The draws will be streamed live on CAF's official digital platforms, including CAF TV. The TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup draw is scheduled for 14h00 Cairo time (11h00 GMT), followed by the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League draw at 15h00 Cairo time (12h00 GMT).

CAF's Khaled Nassar will oversee proceedings, with Ugandan sports broadcaster Andrew Kabuura serving as Master of Ceremonies.

Confederation Cup assistants

Alain Traoré of Burkina Faso and Sudan's Mudather Eltaieb will assist with the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup draw.

Traoré is one of Burkina Faso's most distinguished former internationals. He was part of the national team that reached the 2013 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations final in South Africa, and he built an impressive club career with French sides Auxerre, Lorient, and Monaco. He also helped Morocco's RS Berkane clinch the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup in 2020, giving him a direct connection to the competition whose draw he will assist.

Eltaieb — widely known as Mudather Karika — is a former Sudan striker who rose to prominence with Al Hilal Omdurman. He represented Sudan at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations and scored twice as his country reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 edition. His deep roots in African club football make him a fitting ambassador for the occasion.

Champions League assistants

Oussama Darragi of Tunisia and Cameroon's Achille Emana will assist with the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League draw.

Darragi is among the most celebrated attacking midfielders of his generation in Tunisia. The former Espérance Sportive de Tunis playmaker was central to the club's victory in the 2011 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, when they defeated Wydad Casablanca in the final. That campaign earned Darragi the 2011 CAF African Player of the Year award for players based in Africa. He also had stints at Switzerland's FC Sion and Tunisia's Club Africain.

Emana is a former Cameroon international midfielder who represented the Indomitable Lions at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and multiple editions of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations. He was part of the Cameroon squad that finished runners-up to Egypt at the 2008 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. His European club career included notable spells with Toulouse in France and Real Betis in Spain, before he continued playing in Saudi Arabia and other leagues.

Group stage format and timeline

Sixteen clubs have secured places in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Group Stage, while 15 have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup, with one spot still to be decided. Each competition will feature 16 clubs split into four groups of four, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the quarter-finals. The Group Stages are scheduled to begin in November 2026.