The 2025–26 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes, was the 62nd season of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the 30th under the CAF Champions League title.
The winners of this edition of the competition, Mamelodi Sundowns, qualified for its next edition, the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2026 CAF Super Cup.
Association team allocation All 56 CAF member associations may enter the CAF Champions League, with the 12 highest ranked associations according to the CAF 5-year ranking eligible to enter two teams in the competition. As a result, a maximum of 68 teams could enter the tournament – although this level has never been reached.
For this season's edition, CAF used the 2020–2025 CAF 5-year ranking, which calculates points for each entrant association based on their clubs performance over the 5 years in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. The criteria for the points were as follows:
CAF Champions LeagueCAF Confederation CupWinners6 points5 pointsRunners-up5 points4 pointsLosing semi-finalists4 points3 pointsLosing quarter-finalists3 points2 points3rd place in groups2 points1 point4th place in groups1 point0.5 point
The points were multiplied by a coefficient according to the season as follows: 2024–25: × 5 2023–24: × 4 2022–23: × 3 2021–22: × 2 2020–21: × 1
Teams The following 62 teams from 50 associations entered the competition. Bold received a bye to the second round. The other teams entered the first round.
Associations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score (in parentheses) indicated.
+Associations eligible to enter two teams (Top 12 associations)AssociationRankTeamQualification method1Al Ahly2024–25 Egyptian Premier League championsPyramids2024–25 CAF Champions League champions2024–25 Egyptian Premier League runners-up2RS Berkane2024–25 Botola Pro championsAS FAR2024–25 Botola Pro runners-up3Mamelodi Sundowns2024–25 South African Premiership championsOrlando Pirates2024–25 South African Premiership runners-up4MC Alger2024–25 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championsJS Kabylie2024–25 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up5Young Africans2024–25 Tanzanian Premier League championsSimba2024–25 Tanzanian Premier League runners-up6Espérance de Tunis2024–25 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 championsUS Monastir2024–25 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 runners-up7Petro de Luanda2024–25 Girabola championsWiliete2024–25 Girabola runners-up8Aigles du Congo2024–25 Linafoot championsFC Saint-Éloi Lupopo2024–25 Linafoot runners-up9Al Hilal2024–25 Sudan Premier League championsAl Merrikh2024–25 Sudan Premier League runners-up10Stade d'Abidjan2024–25 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 championsASEC Mimosas2024–25 Côte d'Ivoire Ligue 1 runners-up11Al Ahli Tripoli2024–25 Libyan Premier League championsAl Hilal Benghazi2024–25 Libyan Premier League runners-up12Remo Stars2024–25 Nigeria Premier Football League championsRivers United2024–25 Nigeria Premier Football League runners-up +Associations eligible to enter one teamAssociationRankTeamQualification method13Stade Malien2024–25 Malian Première Division champions14Bibiani Gold Stars2024–25 Ghana Premier League champions15Horoya2024–25 Guinée Championnat National champions16Gaborone United2024–25 Botswana Premier League champions17ASC Jaraaf2024–25 Senegal Ligue 1 champions18FC Nouadhibou2024–25 Super D1 champions19AC Léopards2024–25 Congo Ligue 1 champions20Colombe Sportive2024–25 Elite One champions21ASC Kara2024–25 Togolese Championnat National champions22Vipers2024–25 Uganda Premier League champions23Black Bulls2024 Moçambola champions24Power Dynamos2024–25 Zambia Super League champions25Nsingizini Hotspurs2024–25 Premier League of Eswatini champions25AS FAN2024–25 Niger Super Ligue champions27Rahimo2024–25 Burkinabé Premier League champions—Dadjè2024–25 Benin Premier League champions—Aigle Noir2024–25 Burundi Ligue A champions—AS Tempête2024–25 Central African Republic League champions—US Zilimadjou2024–25 Comoros Premier League champions—ASAS Djibouti Télécom2024–25 Djibouti Premier League champions—Fundación Bata2024–25 Equatoguinean Primera División champions—Ethiopian Insurance2024–25 Ethiopian Premier League champions—Mangasport2024–25 Gabon Championnat National D1 champions—Real de Banjul2024–25 GFA League First Division champions—Kenya Police2024–25 Kenyan Premier League champions—Lioli2024–25 Lesotho Premier League champions—Fassell2024–25 LFA First Division champions—Elgeco Plus2024–25 Malagasy Pro League champions—Silver Strikers2024 Super League of Malawi champions—Cercle de Joachim2024–25 Mauritian Premier League champions—African Stars2024–25 Namibia Premiership champions—APR2024–25 Rwanda Premier League champions—Côte d'Or2024–25 Seychelles Premier League champions—East End Lions2024–25 Sierra Leone National Premier League champions—Mogadishu City2024–25 Somali First Division champions—Jamus2025 South Sudan Football Championship champions—Mlandege2024–25 Zanzibar Premier League champions—Simba Bhora2024 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League champions
Associations which did not enter a team
Schedule The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows. PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying roundsFirst round9 August 202519–21 September 202526–28 September 2025Second round17–19 October 202524 October – 1 November 2025Group stageMatchday 13 November 202521–23 November 2025Matchday 228–30 November 2025Matchday 323–25 January 2026Matchday 430 January – 1 February 2026Matchday 56–8 February 2026Matchday 613–15 February 2026Knockout stageQuarter-finals17 February 202613–14 March 202620–21 March 2026Semi-finals10–11 April 202617–18 April 2026Final17 May 202624 May 2026
Qualifying rounds
First round
Second round
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerTeamTotal1 Trézéguet Al Ahly212 162 Brayan León Mamelodi Sundowns 21 11 5 Abdel Raouf Al Hilal112 1 4 Mounir Chouiar RS Berkane11 11 4 Ahmed Atef Pyramids3 1
See also 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup
References
External links TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, CAFonline.com