The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially released the match calendar for the 2026/27 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup, confirming key dates for Africa’s premier club competitions.

The new season will begin with the preliminary rounds in September 2026 before progressing to the group stages between November 2026 and January 2027. The finals of both competitions are scheduled to be played between 9 and 31 May 2027.

CAF has also retained the prize money introduced in recent seasons, with the winners of the CAF Champions League set to receive USD 6 million, while the CAF Confederation Cup champions will pocket USD 4 million.

The first preliminary round will be played over two legs on 4-6 September and 11-13 September 2026. The second preliminary round will follow on 16-18 October and 23-25 October 2026. Clubs that progress will then advance to the group stage, with Matchday One scheduled for 27-29 November, followed by Matchday Two on 4-6 December, Matchday Three on 18-20 December, Matchday Four on 8-10 January 2027, Matchday Five on 15-17 January and the final round of group fixtures on 22-24 January.

The knockout rounds will begin with the quarter-finals on 26-28 February and 5-7 March 2027 before the semi-finals take place on 9-11 April and 16-18 April. The champions of both competitions will be crowned during the period between 9 and 31 May 2027.

Kenya will have two representatives in next season’s CAF interclub competitions. Record Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia will fly the country’s flag in the CAF Champions League as they return to continental football after missing out last season.

K’Ogalo will be determined to finally break into the Champions League group stage after several near misses over the years. Their most recent campaign ended in the final qualifying round when they lost home and away to record African champions Al Ahly, denying them a place in the lucrative group stage.

Tusker FC will represent Kenya in the CAF Confederation Cup after defeating Kenya Police FC to win the FKF cup/ 2026 Mozzart Bet Cup. The Brewers return to continental football for the first time in four years, having last featured in 2022 when they were knocked out of the CAF Champions League qualifiers by Egyptian giants Zamalek. They were then relegated to the CAF Confederation Cup play-off round, where Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien ending their hopes of reaching the group stage.

The Brewers will be hoping to emulate last season’s representatives, Nairobi United, who reached the CAF Confederation Cup group stage, following in the footsteps of Gor Mahia, the first Kenyan club to qualify for the competition’s group stage.

With the CAF calendar now confirmed, Gor Mahia have already mapped out an intensive build-up ahead of their continental assignment. The Sportpesa League champions are set to travel to Rwanda for the annual Rayon Sports Day celebrations, where they will face Rayon Sports in a prestigious friendly match.

K’Ogalo will then take part in the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup, which will be held in Rwanda from 24 July to 7 August. The regional tournament has traditionally provided CECAFA clubs with valuable preparation for CAF competitions, and Gor Mahia will be hoping the matches offer the ideal platform to sharpen the squad before the Champions League preliminary rounds kick off in September.