Sixteen teams confirmed for Group Stage as giants, debutants and drama define final qualifiers

DAR-ES-SALAAM,  Tanzania 

The line-up for the 2025/26 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup group stage has been confirmed after a dramatic weekend of second-leg clashes that produced goals, upsets and history across Africa.

The 16 qualified clubs include continental heavyweights, past champions, and spirited newcomers — setting the stage for a mouthwatering draw in Johannesburg on Monday, 3 November.

Powerhouses from North Africa once again underlined their strength. Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca crushed Asante Kotoko 5–1 in Casablanca to secure a 6–1 aggregate triumph.

Fellow Moroccan side OC Safi advanced for the first time despite a 2–1 loss to Stade Tunisien, progressing 3–2 on aggregate.

Egypt also boasts a double presence: Zamalek SC eased through 7–0 on aggregate against Dekedda of Somalia, reaffirming their title credentials, while Al Masry edged Al-Ittihad 2–1 over two legs in an intense Libyan derby.

In Algeria, USM Alger — winners of the 2023 edition — and CR Belouizdad both qualified after commanding home victories, marking another season of strong representation for the Maghreb.

South Africa joins Morocco as another nation with two teams in the group stage. 

Kaizer Chiefs delivered a 3–1 victory over AS Simba of DR Congo, matching the aggregate scoreline, while Stellenbosch FC produced one of their finest continental displays to thrash 15 de Agosto 4–1 and advance by the same margin.

Tanzania also enjoys double representation after Azam FC’s record-breaking 9–0 aggregate win over KMKM, and Singida Black Stars’ spirited comeback to eliminate Flambeau du Centre 3–2 on aggregate.

Meanwhile, ZESCO United of Zambia held firm in Botswana to complete a 5–4 aggregate win over Jwaneng Galaxy, and Royal Leopards of Eswatini produced the weekend’s most dramatic story — scoring a 90+10’ equaliser before going down 4–3 on penalties against Maniema Union.

Côte d’Ivoire’s San Pedro continued their impressive run with a 3–1 away win at Coton FC in Benin to seal a 4–1 aggregate triumph, while Nairobi United of Kenya scripted a fairytale debut campaign — edging Etoile du Sahel 7–6 on penalties after a 2–2 aggregate draw.

Mali’s Djoliba battled past USFA 2–1 on aggregate, and AS Otoho of Congo progressed 3–0 over Ferroviário Maputo, completing a balanced 16-team field drawn from 14 nations.

The upcoming group stage promises compelling contrasts: clubs like Zamalek, Wydad, and USM Alger bring continental pedigree, while clubs such as Stellenbosch, Nairobi United, and Singida Black Stars embody the next generation of African contenders.

With five nations — Morocco, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and Tanzania — boasting double representation, regional rivalries are set to intensify.

The CAF Interclub Group Stage Draw will be held at SuperSport studios in Johannesburg on 3 November 2025, live on CAF’s digital platforms.

The 16 teams will be split into four groups of four, with matches kicking off in November.

From defending champions to debutants, the 2025/26 edition of Africa’s second-tier club competition already promises another captivating chapter in the continent’s football story.

The 16 clubs qualified 

Zamalek (EGY) 

USM Alger (ALG)

Wydad (MAR) 

CR Belouizdad (ALG) 

Kaizer Chiefs (RSA) 

Stellenbosch (RSA) 

Azam (TAN) 

Singida Black Stars (TAN) 

ZESCO United (ZAM) 

Maniema Union  (DRC) 

San Pedro (CIV) 

OC Safi (MAR) 

Nairobi United (KEN) 

AS Otoho (CGO) 

Djoliba (MLI) 

Al Masry (EGY) 

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 27/10/2025

Arsenal extend Premier League lead as Man City lose at Villa

LONDON,  England 

Arsenal stretched their Premier League lead to four points as Eberechi Eze's goal beat his former club Crystal Palace 1-0, while Manchester City lost 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Bournemouth are now the Gunners' closest challengers in second after they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0.

After Liverpool's latest defeat to Brentford on Saturday, Arsenal enjoyed the perfect weekend as both their title rivals fell further behind as they go from strength to strength.

Eze left the Eagles to join Arsenal in a £60-million deal in August and his first Premier League goal was decisive as Mikel Arteta's men were again able to lean on their set-piece prowess and a solid defence.

The England international blasted in on the volley after Palace failed to clear Declan Rice's free-kick six minutes before halftime.

Arsenal again failed to hit top gear going forward, but didn't need to as they kept a 10th clean sheet in 13 games in all competitions this season.

"The technique from Eze is unbelievable. We needed something special," said Arteta.

"We didn't score a second goal and when you don't do that you are in danger, but we restricted them to very little."

The only concern for Arteta was the sight of Rice and William Saliba having to be replaced in the second half due to injury.

Arsenal now lead fourth-placed City by six points and have a seven-point cushion over Liverpool in sixth.

City appeared to be emerging as Arsenal's biggest obstacle in the title race after a nine-game unbeaten run.

But Pep Guardiola's men lost at Villa Park for the third consecutive season as Erling Haaland's 12-game scoring streak came to an end.

Matty Cash's stunning strike from outside the box on 19 minutes secured a fourth consecutive league win for Villa as Unai Emery's men climb to seventh.

Haaland had a late goal ruled out for offside, but City's lack of goal threat other than the Norwegian finally cost the visitors.

No City player other than Haaland has scored in the Premier League for a month.

"We were not aggressive enough," said a disappointed Guardiola.

Vote counting in the Ivory Coast presidential election has begun

ABIDJAN,  Ivory Coast 

Polls have closed and counting has begun in Ivory Coast’s Saturday presidential election, as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term.

Only a few voters trickled in just before 6 p.m when polls close.

Leticia Bea, a teacher, said she was there for her students. “We simply came to fulfill our civic duty, as teachers. I told myself, it’s a civic duty. For the children that we teach, the example must start with us," she said.

Ouattara’s key contenders were barred from the race this year, and his announcement that he was seeking a fourth term sparked major protests in August. 

Political marches were banned this month, and protesters clashed with police in Abidjan’s Blockhauss neighborhood, leaving hundreds arrested and several injured.

Other voters also expressed a desire for peace above all else. Leterigue Sekongo, 48, electrical engineer, said peace should be the focus of the election. “There is no point in using violence to spoil the country. It serves no purpose at all,” he said.

Five candidates are jostling for Ivory Coast’s top job, but many see Ouattara, the 83-year-old leader of the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, retaining his seat.

If he wins, he will extend his rule to almost two decades. Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, also holds a majority of seats in parliament.

Ouattara has overseen the country’s economic reconstruction since the civil war, achieving an annual growth rate of 6% backed by a boom in cocoa.

However, 37.5% of the country’s 30 million people still live in poverty, and jobs are scarce for young people. The country’s last two elections saw a voter turnout of slightly above 50%.

Analysts say this election is expected to have low voter turnout, as many voters are disenchanted with the electoral process that has often brought violence to the country. Results are expected Sunday.

6 Iranians arrested as Kenya Navy intercepts vessel with drugs worth Ksh.8.2 billion

By Gatete Njoroge, NAIROBI Kenya 

A multi-agency team led by the Kenya Navy has intercepted a vessel in the Indian Ocean carrying methamphetamine worth over Ksh.8.2 billion and arrested six Iranian nationals on board.

DCI Director Mohammed Amin and Kenya Navy Deputy Commander Brigadier Sankale Kiswaa confirmed that the boat was tracked some 630 kilometres east of Mombasa before being escorted to the port, where the seized substance tested positive for narcotics. 

In what could be one of East Africa's biggest drug busts in years, a multi-agency operation involving the Kenya Navy, Kenya Coast Guard, and NACADA has seized methamphetamine worth Ksh.8.2 billion and arrested six Iranian nationals who were ferrying the consignment.

The vessel was seized after Kenyan security agencies received information from regional and international partners on the suspicious boat, which was on their radar making rounds in the western Indian Ocean.

Brigadier Sankale Kiswaa, Deputy Commander of the Kenya Navy, said: “Kenya Navy was able to intercept this suspicious vessel about 630 km east of Mombasa and we have been able to conduct this operation seamlessly and we were able to arrest it and escort it to the port of Mombasa.”

With the boat seized, police moved to court where they obtained orders to detain it and conduct a search to verify the content in the sacks.

Mohammed Amin, Director of DCI, said: “We were able to discover 769 packages of crystalline substance that was weighing 124,253 kilograms of what came out to be methamphetamine. The street value of the consignment is estimated to be Ksh.8.2 billion, equivalent to USD 63 million.”

Amin said the next phase of investigations will focus on the origin of the drugs and its destination, which they believe was to be sold in the East African region.

“It is too early for me to say the destination was point A or B, it is still under investigations. But certainly, it was destined somewhere in this region. And in terms of the source, like I said, the vessel was stateless, but on board were six Iranian nationals,” said Amin.

The six suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday as police intensify operations to track down more individuals connected to the drug trafficking network.

This latest seizure comes just two weeks after four suspects linked to an international drug syndicate were arrested for allegedly using JKIA to smuggle cocaine. The suspects were arraigned and remanded until October 29, when their case is set to be heard.

Two top opposition leaders arrested in Cameroon as post-election tensions mount ahead of results

YAOUNDE,  Cameroon 

Two top opposition leaders in Cameroon have been arrested, their Union for Change political platform said in a statement on Friday. The news is further adding to post-election tensions in the country.

Anicet Ekane and Djeukam Tchameni both endorsed Issa Tchiroma Bakary who claims to have defeated President Paul Biya in the October 12 vote. Union for Change says they were both arrested at home by armed security forces.

Opposition party African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (MANIDEM) said several of its members have been kidnapped by local security forces, and accused authorities of trying to intimidate Cameroonians.

Tchiroma claims to have won based on results he said were collated by his party; Biya's party accused him of trying to disrupt the election.

Cameroon's electoral body is expected to announce the final election results on Monday, but opposition supporters have been staging protests, warning against an attempt to rig the vote.

Protests were held Saturday in Bafoussam, the capital of the West Region, as motorcyclists flooded major roads, calling for a credible election process.

Protesters clashed with security forces in other cities earlier in the week. Some protesters were arrested and one person was killed in the northern city of Garoua, authorities said.

The victim, a 30-year-old primary school teacher identified as Zairatou Hassana, was not among the protesters and was only out to check on her sister who was yet to return from school, Amadou Adji, her uncle, told The Associated Press.

"Her death makes me keep a bad souvenir of this regime like all other Cameroonians," he said.

On Friday, Tchiroma hinted at attempts to arrest him. In a Facebook post, he said such a move would constitute "an assault against the entire Cameroonian people."

"The people are simply asking you to recognize their victory," he said.

Authorities in the north have blocked the sale of contraband fuel, possibly because of its use by protesters. But as the ban brings the local economy to a halt, it will likely exacerbate tensions.

Tchiroma has called for nationwide protests on Sunday.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 26/10/2025

 

Trump hopes China will help push Russia towards Ukraine peace talks

WASHINGTON,  United States 

United States President, Donald Trump has said he would like China's help to deal with Russia as he seeks to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

"I'd like China to help us out with Russia," the US president said on board Air Force One, as he flew to Asia for a whirlwind tour, where he will meet China's Xi Jinping in South Korea.

It could be wishful thinking, however. China is Russia's biggest ally, and a vital support to Moscow since Western sanctions were imposed over its war in Ukraine.

Trump's comments come off the back of a difficult week for Kyiv - the US refused to give it Tomahawk cruise missiles, EU leaders did not release frozen Russian cash to help fund its defence, and there have been more deadly strikes.

Ending the Russia-Ukraine war has become a focal point for Trump in recent months, with a ceasefire deal so far eluding him, despite his campaign promises to solve the situation quickly. A summit with Putin in August failed to yield any tangible results, and Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow.

"Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere," Trump said earlier this week.

On Wednesday, he announced new sanctions against Russia's two biggest oil companies - the first direct interventions the Trump administration has imposed on Russia over the war. What effect the blacklisting will have in the long-term is yet to be seen, but the Kremlin said it was "immune" to the sanctions.

While Trump's meeting with Xi on Thursday is still expected to focus on the hostile trade relations between the US and China, Trump said that he would talk to Xi about "everything", including the war in Ukraine.

"I'd like to see China help us out [with Russia]. I have a very good relationship... with President Xi. Very good," he said, adding that Xi wants to see the war end.

Earlier this week, Trump said that the Chinese president "can have a big influence on Putin".

Beijing has never criticised Russia's war in Ukraine, and has been accused by the US and its allies of aiding Russia's war effort - which Beijing denies - through its purchases of Russian oil and monthly supply of dual-use materials (those with both commercial and military applications).

Putin and Xi have previously touted their countries' relationship as a "friendship with no limits", and Russia hopes gas exports to China and other countries will replace the revenue lost after Western sanctions were imposed.

The warm relations between Russia and China were on full display last month, when Putin, Xi and North Korea's Kim Jong Un met in Beijing for an extraordinary show of solidarity and military might.

As Trump made his comments on Air Force One, emergency crews in Ukraine were at the scene of more Russian strikes, including some in Kyiv where several people were killed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"No country should be left alone in the face of such evil," he wrote on Telegram, reiterating the need for Ukraine's allies to step-up support.

Meanwhile, in Russia's Belgorod region, residents living near a dam were told to evacuate after a Ukrainian strike on the local reservoir caused damage that could lead to flooding.

Ivory Coast heads to the polls

By Ope Adetayo, ABIDJAN Ivory Coast  

Ivory Coast is voting to elect a new leader Saturday as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term.

Voting is expected to open at 0800 GMT and close by 1800 GMT, with 8.7 million people registered to vote. Turnout has only been slightly above 50% in the last two elections. Vote counting is expected to begin immediately after the polls close.

The election is the latest example of aging men continuing to hold power in Africa, which boasts the youngest population in the world. Cameroon’s Paul Biya, 92, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, 81, and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Mbasogo, 83, are some other older African leaders still in power.

Five candidates are jostling for Ivory Coast’s top job, but many see the election as going one way, with Ouattara, the 83-year-old leader of the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, retaining his seat. 

If he wins, this would extend his rule to almost two decades. Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, also holds a majority of seats in parliament with 169 out of 255 seats.

Ouattara has overseen Ivory Coast’s economic reconstruction since the civil war, achieving an annual growth rate of 6% backed by a boom in cocoa. However, 37.5% of the country’s 30 million people still live in poverty, and jobs are scarce for young people.

Ouattara is being challenged by four other candidates, including Simone Gbagbo, a former first lady, and Jean-Loius Billion, a former commerce minister under Ouattara. They have all promised jobs and new agricultural policies. Analysts say they do not have a real chance at unseating Ouattara.

At his final rally in Abidjan on Thursday, Ouattara told his supporters, “The growth has been huge, but we need to continue.”

A former deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund, Ouatarra’s investment in the public sector and infrastructure has endeared him to his supporters.

The build-up to the election has been marred by protests against the exclusion of major candidates who could pose a challenge to Ouattara’s ambition. 

The final list of registered candidates did not include Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse executive, and Laurent Gbagbo, a former candidate who still retains the support of a large section of the voter base.

Their supporters had taken to the streets, with several hundred people arrested and dozens jailed already. 

This has raised the specter of past electoral crises that killed at least 3,000 people in 2010 and 2011 and almost 100 people in 2020. 

The government also restricted the gathering of people outside the five parties contesting the election and deployed more than 40,000 personnel across the country.

US is sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America in major escalation of military firepower

By Konstatin Toropin, WASHINGTON United States 

The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, the Pentagon announced Friday, in the latest escalation of military firepower in a region where the Trump administration has unleashed more rapid strikes in recent days against boats it accuses of carrying drugs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command region to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media.

The USS Ford, which has five destroyers in its strike group, is now deployed to the Mediterranean Sea. One of its destroyers is in the Arabian Sea and another is in the Red Sea, a person familiar with the operation told The Associated Press. As of Friday, the aircraft carrier was in port in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, would not say how long it would take for the strike group to arrive in the waters off South America or if all five destroyers would make the journey.

Deploying an aircraft carrier will surge major additional resources to a region that has already seen an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela. 

The latest deployment and the quickening pace of the U.S. strikes, including one Friday, raised new speculation about how far the Trump administration may go in operations it says are targeted at drug trafficking, including whether it could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

There are already more than 6,000 sailors and Marines on eight warships in the region. If the entire USS Ford strike group arrives, that could bring nearly 4,500 more sailors as well as the nine squadrons of aircraft assigned to the carrier.

Complicating the situation is Tropical Storm Melissa, which has been nearly stationary in the central Caribbean with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen into a powerful hurricane.

Hours before Parnell announced the news, Hegseth said the military had conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead and bringing the death count for the attacks that began in early September to at least 43 people.

Hegseth said on social media that the vessel struck overnight was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. It was the second time the Trump administration has tied one of its operations to the gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison.

“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his post. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”

The strikes have ramped up from one every few weeks when they first began last month to three this week, killing a total of at least 43 people. 

Two of the most recent strikes were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean, expanding the area where the military has launched attacks and shifting to where much of the cocaine is smuggled from the world’s largest producers, including Colombia.

Escalating tensions with Colombia, the Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family and a member of his government over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade.

Friday’s strike drew parallels to the first announced by the U.S. last month by focusing on Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization and blamed for being at the root of the violence and drug dealing that plague some cities.

While not mentioning the origin of the latest boat, the Republican administration says at least four of the boats it has hit have come from Venezuela. On Thursday, the U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela.

Maduro argues that the U.S. operations are the latest effort to force him out of office.

Maduro on Thursday praised security forces and a civilian militia for defense exercises along some 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles) of coastline to prepare for the possibility of a U.S. attack.

In the span of six hours, “100% of all the country’s coastline was covered in real time, with all the equipment and heavy weapons to defend all of Venezuela’s coasts if necessary,” Maduro said during a government event shown on state television.

The U.S. military’s presence is less about drugs than sending a message to countries in the region to align with U.S. interests, according to Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region.

“An expression that I’m hearing a lot is ‘Drugs are the excuse.’ And everyone knows that,” Dickinson said. “And I think that message is very clear in regional capitals. So the messaging here is that the U.S. is intent on pursuing specific objectives. And it will use military force against leaders and countries that don’t fall in line.”

Rampant Wydad defeat Kotoko 5–1 as Moroccans march into group phase

CASABLANCA,  Morocco 

Wydad Casablanca stormed into the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup group stage with a dominant 5–1 victory over Asante Kotoko in Casablanca, completing a 6–1 aggregate triumph after winning 1–0 in Ghana last week.

The Moroccan giants were ahead inside the first minute and never looked back, scoring twice from the spot after the interval before adding a late fifth to underline their superiority at the Mohammed V Stadium.

The tone was set almost immediately when Hamza Hannouri finished a sweeping move after only 60 seconds to put Wydad 1–0 up on the night and 2–0 ahead on aggregate.

Kotoko, who had to chase the game, responded bravely and found a lifeline on 18 minutes when Samba Gilbani steered in an equaliser to level the match.

Any hope of a comeback was short-lived. On 26 minutes, Wydad restored their lead through Aziz Ki, who arrived from midfield to convert after the hosts carved open space down the inside-right channel.

With the visitors forced to commit numbers forward, Wydad controlled territory and tempo after half-time, repeatedly drawing fouls in dangerous areas as Kotoko tired.

Their pressure told from the spot in the 54th minute when Thembinkosi Lorch sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 3–1.

The Red and White continued to push, and a second penalty was awarded with six minutes of normal time remaining; Oussama Zemraoui converted confidently for 4–1.

Mohamed Bouchouari added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time, arriving to finish a cut-back for Wydad’s fifth of the evening.

By then the outcome was beyond doubt, with the Moroccan side’s control in both boxes and superior game management decisive across the two legs.

The result returns Wydad to the group phase of a CAF interclub competition, a level they know well from their storied continental history. 

Wydad will know their group opponents on Monday, 03 November 2025 when the Group Stage Draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup is held.