CAF Champions League: Rivers United draw San Pedro as Medeama face TP Mazembe

[p]Reigning Ghana Premier League champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/medeama/jsa2ySLq/"]Medeama SC[/a] have been handed a daunting first-round tie against five-time African champions TP Mazembe.[/p][p]The Ghanaian side will host the first leg at TNA Park before travelling to Lubumbashi for the return fixture at Stade TP Mazembe. [/p][p][b]The winner on aggregate will advance to face either Tunisian giants [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/club-africain/C2lt6Igm/"]Club Africain[/a] or Mali's Djoliba AC in the second preliminary round.[/b][/p][p]Elsewhere, Kenyan champions Gor Mahia face a stern test against Egyptian powerhouse [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pyramids/zyHMiDZ6/"]Pyramids FC[/a]. Should the Kenyan side progress, they will meet either South Sudan's El Merreikh Bentiu or Somalia's Heegan SC in the next round.[/p][p][b]In another first-round fixture, reigning Nigeria Premier Football League champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rangers-international/KxX6KECj/"]Enugu Rangers[/a] will begin their continental campaign against Benin Republic's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sobemap/8fyzLafj/"]Sobemap FC[/a]. [/b][/p][p]Victory would set up a second-round clash with either Niger Republic's ASN Nigelec or Algerian champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mc-alger/tnY2Lfcp/"]MC Alger[/a].[/p][p]Nigeria's other representative, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rivers-united/b1JSz0K3/"]Rivers United[/a], will take on Ivory Coast's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-pedro/pCVkxE7k/"]FC San Pedro[/a]. The winner of that tie will face either Uganda's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vipers/naKVehgj/"]Vipers SC[/a] or Mauritania's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nouadhibou/0l0eDQNP/"]FC Nouadhibou[/a] for a place in the group stage.[/p][p][b]The first legs of the opening preliminary round are scheduled for September 4–6, 2026, with the return legs set for September 11–13, 2026.[/b][/p][p]South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns enter the competition as the defending CAF Champions League champions after defeating Morocco's AS FAR in last season's final.[/p][embed guid="bd2b2f10-604b-412f-8a5f-bd93ab64eebf" url="https://x.com/CAFCLCC/status/2085349232848810216" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Potential Second Preliminary Round ties[/b][/p][p]TP Mazembe/Medeama SC vs Club Africain (Tunisia) or Djoliba AC (Mali) [/p][p]Pyramids FC/Gor Mahia vs El Merreikh Bentiu (South Sudan) or Heegan SC (Somalia) [/p][p]Enugu Rangers/Sobemap FC vs ASN Nigelec (Niger) or MC Alger (Algeria) [/p][p]Rivers United/FC San Pedro vs Vipers SC (Uganda) or FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania)[/p][image alt="Shina Oludare" id="c48939b4-bf3f-4a68-b67e-9e3eb77853c1" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="760674f2-5d86-4b38-85c5-e153470d242e" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]