Seven of the eight teams that will compete at the inaugural edition of the African Football League have qualified for the group stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, and at least two will face each other in the same group.
Defending champions Al Ahly have been drawn in Group D and will be the only side not facing an AFL opponent. They have been drawn with Algeria’s CR Belouizdad, Tanzanian giants Yanga SC, and Ghana’s first timers Medeama SC.
In Group A, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, winners of the Champions League in 2016, have been handed a draw that also includes five-time champions TP Mazembe.
The two sides will also face off with Egypt’s Pyramids SC who are playing the group stages of the Champions League for the first time ever as well as Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou.
In Group B, last year’s losing finalists Wydad Athletic Club, three time winners of the CAF CL have been paired with Tanzania’s Simba SC. The two sides also faced off in the quarter finals last season, where Wydad on penalties.
Also drawn in the same group is Asec Mimosas of Ivory Coast and Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana.
In Group C, Esperance de Tunis of Tunisia have been drawn together with Petro de Luanda of Angola, the two AFL teams set to square against each other for a place in the quarter finals. Esperance will battle out with familiar names, local league rivals Etoile Sportive du Sahel (ESS) as well as Sudan’s Al Hilal.
The group stage of the Champions League kicks off on the weekend of November 24-25.
