The Confederation of African Football has confirmed Enugu Rangers and Rivers United as Nigeria’s flagbearers in the qualifying rounds of the 2026/27 CAF Champions League, placing both clubs on a crowded starting line for Africa’s most prestigious club competition.

CAF’s entry list features 24 clubs from 12 countries with two representatives each, underlining the strength of the continent’s leading leagues. Algeria will field Mouloudia Alger and JS Saoura, while Angola sends Petro Luanda and Wiliete. Côte d’Ivoire’s ASEC Mimosas and San Pedro, DR Congo’s TP Mazembe and Aigles, and Egypt’s Zamalek and Pyramids also make the cut, alongside Mali’s Djoliba and Stade Malien and Morocco’s MAS Fes and Renaissance Berkane.

Southern and East Africa are equally well represented. South Africa’s Orlando Pirates join defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, with Sudan’s Al Hilal and Al Merrikh, Tanzania’s Young Africans and Simba, and Tunisia’s Club Africain and Esperance completing the group of nations with two slots.

Rangers and Rivers United will enter in the first preliminary round, where early momentum can prove decisive in a competition that stretches across the entire season. Both clubs face a demanding path, with travel, unfamiliar opponents and tight domestic schedules all part of the challenge.

Beyond the two-team nations, CAF has cleared 40 countries to present a single representative. Among the notable entrants are Medeama of Ghana, Gor Mahia of Kenya, Horoya of Guinea, APR of Rwanda, Vipers of Uganda, Power Dynamos of Zambia and Scotland of Zimbabwe, reflecting the competition’s broad geographic spread.

CAF indicated that representatives from Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia are yet to be finalised, as their domestic leagues are still in progress. Current leaders 15 de Agosto/Leones Vegetarianos, Canchungo and Heegan are in pole position to claim those slots once their championships conclude.

The first preliminary round is scheduled over two legs, followed by a second preliminary phase that will determine the 16 teams advancing to the group stage. The group phase will run across six matchdays, before the competition moves into quarter-finals, semi-finals and a two-legged final set for May, with the exact date to be confirmed.

For Rangers and Rivers United, qualification to the group stage would not only boost club prestige but also strengthen Nigeria’s coefficient, critical to preserving multiple Champions League slots in future seasons.