The dust has settled on the opening skirmishes of the CAF Champions League, and now the stage is set for an explosive Round of 32 packed with drama, derbies, and heavyweight clashes.
Uganda’s flag bearers Vipers SC, who swept aside Namibia’s African Stars with poise, have been handed a blockbuster tie against Zambia’s Power Dynamos, conquerors of Ivorian giants ASEC Mimosas.
In Kigali, APR FC of Rwanda, home to Ugandan stars Ronald Ssekiganda, Denis Omedi, and Hakim Kiwanuka, will square off against defending champions Pyramids FC of Egypt.
The aggregate winner of that duel will face Ethiopia’s Ethiopian Insurance, where former Express FC talisman Allan Kayiwa plies his trade, ensuring a fascinating Ugandan subplot in the competition.
Elsewhere, Denis Onyango’s Mamelodi Sundowns, kings of South African football, will lock horns with Nigeria’s ambitious Remo Stars, while Tanzanian powerhouse Simba SC have been pitted against Eswatini’s fairytale debutants Nsingizini Hotspurs.
Their archrivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) take on Malawi’s rising force Silver Strikers in another East–Southern African showdown.
The first legs are scheduled between October 17–19, with the decisive return ties coming a week later on October 24–26.
The victors will march into the money-spinning group stages of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League.
CAF Champions League Round of 32 Fixtures
- Remo Stars (Nigeria) vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
- Vipers SC (Uganda) vs Power Dynamos (Zambia)
- Aigle Noir (Burundi) vs Al Ahly (Egypt)
- Silver Strikers (Malawi) vs Young Africans (Tanzania)
- Stade d’Abidjan (Ivory Coast) vs Petro de Luanda (Angola)
- Horoya (Guinea) vs AS FAR (Morocco)
- Nsingizini Hotspurs (Eswatini) vs Simba SC (Tanzania)
- Rahimo (Burkina Faso) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
- Black Bulls (Mozambique) vs Rivers United (Nigeria)
- Police FC (Kenya) vs Al Hilal (Sudan)
- Colombe (Cameroon) vs MC Alger (Algeria)
- FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania) vs Stade Malien (Mali)
- US Monastir (Tunisia) vs JS Kabylie (Algeria)
- St. Eloi Lupopo (DR Congo) / Al Merriekh (Sudan) vs Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
- Ethiopian Insurance (Ethiopia) vs APR (Rwanda)/Pyramids (Egypt)
