CAF Confederation Cup Fixtures Live This African Club Football Weekend As CAF Preliminary Round Second Leg Battle Starts

African club football don enter hot stage this weekend.

CAF confirm say second preliminary round of 2026/27 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup don start today Friday, October 16, and 32 clubs go fight for 16 group stage tickets, according to https://africasoccer.com and https://dailysports.net.

First legs dey happen Friday Oct 16 to Sunday Oct 18. Return legs na Oct 23-25. After that, na group stage proper. Prize for winner this season na reported $4 million.

Which stage be this?

This na last qualifying hurdle. From 58 teams wey start, 32 remain now. 8 big teams wey get bye join 24 teams wey waka come from first round. Lose here, you dey out of Confederation Cup for this season.

Standout fixtures this weekend

For Nigeria fans, eye go dey El Kanemi Warriors vs Raja Casablanca for Sunday Oct 18. Raja, Morocco giants and former African champions, land for Lagos on Friday evening before moving to game venue, according to https://elbotola.com. El Kanemi na Nigeria FA Cup winners — na big test for them.

Another big one: Red Arrows (Zambia) vs Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) on Saturday. Chiefs na one of Africa’s most famous clubs, but dem still dey chase continental glory. Red Arrows wan use home advantage for Lusaka.

Also hot: ZED FC (Egypt) vs Azam FC (Tanzania) — today Friday at Cairo International Stadium, 6pm WAT. Ref na Mozambican Simões Guambe. Welwalo Adigrat (Ethiopia) vs Al Ahly Tripoli (Libya) also today.

Other ties: Kitara FC vs Al Ahly (Egypt), Tusker FC (Kenya) vs Singida Black Stars (Tanzania), Rayon Sports (Rwanda) vs Black Bulls (Mozambique), Panthers FC vs defending champions USM Alger (Algeria), AS Douanes vs CR Belouizdad (Algeria).

Why these early ties still matter a lot

For fans wey no dey follow every small club, this round be like Champions League playoff — e decide money and prestige. Reach group stage, you get minimum 6 games, TV exposure, and CAF ranking points. For clubs like El Kanemi, ZED, Tusker — na chance to write history.

For bigger clubs like Raja, Chiefs, USM Alger — miss group stage na disaster for season.

So even though na preliminary round, na do-or-die. One bad leg fit cost whole campaign.

Weekend don set. African club football dey live.