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Ayodele Ismail at Shooting Stars (Photo credit: Shooting SC\/X)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The draw for the 2026 CAF Confederation Cup<\/a> has been held in Cairo, Egypt, with clubs now discovering their path to the group stage of the competition,\u00a0Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n CAF had earlier confirmed the draw format, with clubs seeded based on their rankings and recent performances in continental competitions.<\/p>\n The eight highest-ranked teams received byes into the second preliminary round from the 56 clubs that entered the tournament.<\/p>\n The remaining 48 teams were paired to face each other over two legs in the first preliminary round. The 24 winners will then join the eight seeded teams in the second preliminary round, also known as the Round of 32.<\/p>\n The 16 winners from that stage will qualify for the group stage, where they will battle for the title currently held by USM Alger, who defeated Zamalek over two legs in last season’s final.<\/p>\n Nigeria’s representatives, Shooting Stars and El Kanemi Warriors, have both been handed difficult routes to the group stage following the draw.<\/p>\n Shooting Stars will take on three-time\u00a0CAF Confederation Cup\u00a0champions CS Sfaxien in one of the standout ties of the opening round. Should the Ibadan-based club progress, they will face either AF Amadou Diallo or East End Lions in the second preliminary round.<\/p>\n The Oluyole Warriors secured their place in the competition after finishing third in the Nigeria Premier Football League last season, marking their return to continental football for the first time in 27 years.<\/p>\n Opponents for NPFL reps in the CAF Confederation Cup for first preliminary stage; <\/p>\n Shooting Stars vs. CS Sfaxien Winners will move to 2nd preliminary stage before the group stage. <\/p>\n Our prayers with them. \ud83d\udcaa pic.twitter.com\/y7jA7gtcTc<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/fze9Us3rBk3cWTaDUtSEdZoHnOw=\/1024x683\/smart\/filters:format(webp)\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2025%2F03%2Fimago1047402155.jpg\")
Soccer Shooting Stars, El Kanemi discover CAF Confederation Cup opponents<\/h2>\n
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El-Kanemi vs. Union Desportivo<\/p>\n
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