Africa's best women's clubs head to Egypt with the draw format locked, hosts FC Masar and holders AS FAR already seeded and the chase for continental glory on.
Africa's flagship women's club competition is ready for its next chapter. The CAF Women's Champions League final tournament in Egypt in 2026 now has its draw format confirmed, with eight clubs split into two groups of four and defending champions AS FAR looking to prove their crown was no one-off.
Hosts FC Masar are locked into position A1, while AS FAR of Morocco take B1 as holders. The top two in each group will move into the knockout stage, which means semi-finals, a third-place match and the final. There is little room for slow starts when only half the field survives the group stage.
The other six berths have been divided into two levels, based on results from the last three editions. Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and USFAS Bamako of Mali, the top-ranked sides, sit in Pot 1. Pot 2 holds Kawempe Muslim Ladies of Uganda, Lekie Football Girls of Cameroon, FUS Rabat of Morocco and the WAFU B representative, whose identity is still to be confirmed.
The draw itself runs on two sets of balls. Pot A decides positions A2, A3 and A4, while Pot B handles B2, B3 and B4. The process opens with Pot 1: the first club drawn joins FC Masar in Group A, with a separate ball from Pot A settling its exact slot. The remaining Pot 1 side will then be placed in the other group, and Pot 2 will fill the rest.
With Sundowns and USFAS Bamako carrying top billing, a motivated host in FC Masar and AS FAR chasing a repeat, the stage is set for a serious battle across the continent's women's club game.
