Egyptian Football Association headquarters
The ambitious proposal follows a historic campaign for African football at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Egypt reached the round of 16 for the first time in their history, bowing out after a narrow 3-2 defeat against defending champions Argentina.
In an official statement, the EFA highlighted the strong performances of African federations at the World Cup as justification for expanding continental representation.
Abo Rida’s submission urges CAF to grant every member federation an additional slot in both competitions, with places allocated according to CAF’s ranking criteria.
Under the proposal, the continent's top-ranked federations would see their allocation rise to three clubs apiece in both the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, with the extra sides entering from the preliminary rounds.
Currently, Africa's top 12 ranked leagues, a bracket Egypt consistently top, are granted two entries per competition.
Should CAF approve the change, elite associations would see their quota climb to three clubs in each tournament, taking their overall continental representation to six.
Domestically, Zamalek and Pyramids FC finished as the top two sides in the Egyptian Premier League table after an unpredictable campaign, securing Egypt's two automatic Champions League places.
Meanwhile, continental record-holders Ahly have been surprisingly relegated to next season's Confederation Cup, where they are set to face either ZED FC or Ceramica Cleopatra.
Were CAF to give the EFA's proposal the green light, Ahly could yet be promoted into the Champions League bracket instead of the Confederation Cup.
The 2026/2027 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup campaigns are scheduled to open with preliminary rounds in September 2026, with the group stages running from late November 2026 to January 2027, and the finals set for May 2027.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: