The draw for the preliminary rounds of the CAF Champions League will take place this Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt. 54 clubs, including the champion of Benin, Coton FC, are in contention for the final phase.
Like the other clubs in the competition, Coton FC will find out their opponent for the preliminary rounds of the CAF Champions League this Tuesday. The draw for the African competition will be conducted at the headquarters of the pan-African institution in Cairo, Egypt. The ceremony will be broadcast live on all partner channels and on the official CAF YouTube channel, CAF TV.
For this season, a total of 54 clubs from 42 countries across the continent will participate in the tournament. Among them, we will see the defending champion, Al Ahly, as well as the unfortunate runner-up, Wydad Casablanca, and the semi-finalists of the last edition, namely Espérance de Tunis and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Recent quarter-finalists, Simba and CR Belouizdad, will also be part of the competition. However, Raja Casablanca and JS Kabylie, who had a difficult season and failed to qualify for the CAF Champions League, will miss the event.
It is worth noting that TP Mazembe and AS Vita Club will be present despite the suspension of the Congolese championship. Their inclusion was based on the ranking established by the Congolese Football Association (Fecofa), which takes into account the cumulative results of the previous 4 seasons.
According to the new format, clubs eliminated in the second preliminary round will no longer be transferred to the CAF Confederation Cup. On the other hand, clubs with the highest CAF ranking and set to participate in the first edition of the African Super League (in October, before the start of the group stage of the CAF Champions League in November) will be exempted from the first or second round. Further details will be provided by the organization at a later stage.
