The 2025–26 CAF Champions League knockout stage started on 13 March with the quarter-finals and ended on 24 May 2026 with the second leg of the final to decide the champions of the 2025–26 CAF Champions League. 8 teams competed in the knockout stage.
| Dates | 13 March – 24 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 14 |
| Goals scored | 27 (1.93 per match) |
| Attendance | 401,000 (28,643 per match) |
← 2024–25 2026–27 → | |
Times are local.
Round and draw dates
editThe schedule was as follows.[1]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | 17 February 2026 | 13–14 March 2026 | 20–21 March 2026 |
| Semi-finals | 10–11 April 2026 | 17–18 April 2026 | |
| Final | 15 May 2026 | 24 May 2026 |
Format
editEach tie in the knockout phase was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If the away goals rule was also equal, then extra time was not played and the winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations III. 26 & 27). The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:
- In the draw for the quarter-finals, the four group winners were seeded, and the four group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group could not be drawn against each other, while teams from the same association could be drawn against each other.
- In the draws for the semi-finals, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw.
Qualified teams
editThe knockout stage involved the 8 teams qualifying as winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage.
| Group | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| A |  Pyramids |
 RS Berkane |
| B | Al Ahly |
AS FAR |
| C |  Al Hilal |
 Mamelodi Sundowns |
| D |  Stade Malien |
 Espérance de Tunis |
Bracket
editThe bracket of the knockout stage was determined as follows:
| Round | Matchups |
|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | (Group winners hosted the second leg, matchups decided by draw, teams from same group cannot play each other)
|
| Semi-finals | (Matchups and order of legs decided by draw, between winners QF1, QF2, QF3, QF4)
|
| Final | Winners SF1 and SF2 faced each other in two legs to decide the champions |
The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 17 February 2026, 12:00 GMT (12:00 local time, UTC+2), at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[2]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||
| Espérance de Tunis
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Al Ahly
| 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Espérance de Tunis
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Mamelodi Sundowns
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Mamelodi Sundowns
| 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Stade Malien
| 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Mamelodi Sundowns
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| AS FAR
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| AS FAR
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Pyramids
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| AS FAR
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| RS Berkane
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| RS Berkane
| 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Al Hilal
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
editThe draw for the quarter-finals was held on 17 February 2026.
Summary
editThe first legs were played on 13, 14, and 15 March, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 March 2026.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS Berkane | 2–1 | Al Hilal | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 4–2 | Al Ahly | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 3–2 | Stade Malien | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| AS FAR | 3–2 | Pyramids | 1–1 | 2–1 |
Matches
edit| RS Berkane | 1–1 | Al Hilal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
RS Berkane won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Al Ahly | 2–3 | Espérance de Tunis |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Espérance de Tunis won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Stade Malien | 2–0 | Mamelodi Sundowns |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Mamelodi Sundowns won 3–2 on aggregate.
AS FAR won 3–2 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
editThe draw for the semi-finals was held on 17 February 2026 (after the quarter-finals draw).
Summary
editThe first legs were played on 11 and 12 April, and the second legs were played on 18 April 2026.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espérance de Tunis | 0–2 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| AS FAR | 2–1 | RS Berkane | 2–0 | 0–1 |
Matches
editMamelodi Sundowns won 2–0 on aggregate.
| AS FAR | 2–0 | RS Berkane |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| RS Berkane | 1–0 | AS FAR |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
AS FAR won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
editThe first leg was played on 17 May, and the second leg was played on 24 May 2025.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 2–1 | AS FAR | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 1–0 | AS FAR |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| AS FAR | 1–1 | Mamelodi Sundowns |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Mamelodi Sundowns won 2–1 on aggregate.
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "CAF 2026 Competitions Calendar" (PDF). Confederation of African Football.
- ↑ "CAF to conduct Quarter-final draws for TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup in Cairo on Tuesday". Confederation of African Football. 15 February 2026.
External links
edit- TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, CAFonline.com