African football fans' eyes will turn, tomorrow, Wednesday, to the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association in Cairo, where the group stage draw for the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup will be held, with the participation of a galaxy of Arab and African clubs, led by Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Pyramids.
The draw for the CAF Champions League is scheduled to take place at exactly 3 PM, with the participation of Zamalek and Pyramids, and the draw ceremony will be broadcast on the "On Time Sports" channel.
Zamalek and Pyramids will compete in the tournament from the first pot, alongside Tunisia's Esperance and Morocco's Ittihad Tanger, so this group of pots includes four clubs at the same level before the group stage draw.
CAF Champions League Pots
The pots for the clubs participating in the CAF Champions League group stage draw are as follows:
Pot 1: Zamalek, Pyramids, Esperance (Tunisia), Ittihad Tanger (Morocco).
Pot 2: Al Hilal (Sudan), Simba (Tanzania), Young Africans (Tanzania), Petro de Luanda (Angola).
Pot 3: MC Alger (Algeria), Orlando Pirates (South Africa), FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania), Horoya AC (Guinea).
Pot 4: Club Africain (Tunisia), MAS Fes (Morocco), Colombe Sportive (Cameroon), Willete (Angola).
Al Ahly in Pot 1 of the Confederation Cup draw
In the CAF Confederation Cup, the draw ceremony will be held at exactly 2 PM, amid anticipation to know the expected matchups in the group stage, foremost among them Al Ahly's path in the tournament.
Al Ahly is placed in Pot 1, returning to the Confederation Cup after years of participation in the CAF Champions League, after finishing last season's Egyptian League outside the top two positions, according to the data in the report.
Pot 1, in addition to Al Ahly, includes USM Alger (Algeria) and AS FAR (Morocco), as well as CR Belouizdad (Algeria), should they succeed in securing qualification in their pending match against FC de Mauritanie.
CAF Confederation Cup Pots
The pots for the clubs participating in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage draw are as follows:
Pot 1: Al Ahly (Egypt), USM Alger (Algeria), AS FAR (Morocco), CR Belouizdad (Algeria) (if qualified).
Pot 2: Raja Casablanca (Morocco), Maniema Union (DR Congo), Azam FC (Tanzania), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia).
Pot 3: Singida Big Stars (Tanzania), Al-Ahli Tripoli (Libya), Black Bulls (Mozambique), Real Bamako (Mali).
Pot 4: Kara (Togo), Red Arrows (Zambia), Primiero de Agosto (Angola), Durban City (South Africa).
The participating clubs await the results of both draws to determine their opponents in the group stage, as a new phase of continental competition begins, during which each team seeks to secure its place among the main contenders for the titles of both tournaments.