Holders Pyramids face Rwanda's APR but Ahly gets bye in CAF Champions League draw

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Saturday 9 Aug 2025

The draw of the 2025/2026 CAF Champions League season was held in Tanzania on Saturday. Holders Pyramids FC will face Rwanda’s APR FC in the first preliminary round, while Ahly gets a bye.

File Photo: Pyramids Forward Fiston Mayele in action during the match against APR in Cairo, Egypt. Photo courtesy of CAF.

Ahly and Pyramids FC are playing in the prestigious 62-club tournament as the holders and runners-up of the Egyptian Premier League in the 2024/2025 season, respectively.

The first preliminary round is scheduled to start on 19 September (First Leg – 19–21 September; Second Leg – 26–28 September).

The second preliminary round kicks off on 17 October (First Leg – 17–19 October; Second Leg – 24–26 October).

Ahly enters the competition in its second preliminary round after being given a bye based on its ranking. The Red Devils will face the winner between Burundi’s Aigle Noir FC and Djibouti’s ASAS in the first preliminary round.

If Pyramids FC proceed to the second round, they will face the winner of the confrontation between Mlandege FC of Zanzibar and Ethiopia’s Insurance Company.

Pyramids FC won the 2024/2025 Champions League title on 1 June - their first - after beating South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the final. Ahly, the 12-time African Champions, were eliminated by Sundowns in the semi-finals.

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