CAF Champions League: Colombe Inherits Challenging Group

A ll eyes were on Cairo, Egypt, yesterday, October 28, 2026, the venue for the group-stage draw of the 2026–2027 edition of the Confede­ ration of African Football (CAF) Cham­ pions League. Cameroon’s represen­ tative in the competition, Colombe Sportive of Dja and Lobo, which made a historic qualification to this prestigious phase, was eager to dis­ cover the teams standing between them and the knockout rounds. At exactly 1 p.m., the draw kicked off, and after about 30 minutes, Colombe had a clear picture of what their group journey will look like. The Ca­ meroonian club was placed in Group C alongside RS Berkane of Morocco, Simba SC of Tanzania and Orlando Pirates of South Africa with day- one matches billed between No­ vember 27-29, 2026. All three opponents have a stronger pedigree in continental club compe­ titions than Colombe, which will be making its first-ever appearance in the group phase. RS Berkane of Mo­ rocco, three-time CAF Confederation Cup winners, reached the 16-team group stage of the Champions League for the second year running. Last edition, RS Berkane were eli­ minated in the semi-finals. They also lifted the CAF Super Cup in 2025. Led by the popular Cape Ver­ dean coach Bubista, they will now look to go further in the continent’s premier club competition. Orlando Pirates, the Soweto giants, were crowned African champions in 1995 and also reached the Cham­ pions League final in 2013. They will be making their sixth group- stage appearance and their first since the 2024/25 season. Simba SC will be making their seventh Champions League group-stage ap­ pearance, more than any other Tan­ zanian club. The Dar es Salaam giants have a long history in continental football, having become the first Tanzanian team to reach a CAF in­ terclub final when they finished run­ ners-up in the CAF Cup in 1993. More recently, Simba reached the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup fi­ nal, again finishing as runners-up. Their best perf...