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Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates have found out which teams they are going to face in the CAF Champions League preliminary round.
The draw took place on Tuesday at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, with Masandawana and the Buccaneers representing South Africa in Africa’s elite club competition this season.
Masandawana were knocked out in the semi-final by Wydad Athletic Club last season and are once again expected to go far in the competition, while Pirates return to the CAFCL for the first time since 2018/19, when they failed to make it out of the group stages.
However, there is new belief at the Sea Robbers after they won the domestic double in Jose Riveiro’s debut campaign and also finished in second spot on the log.
As one of the highest-ranked team in Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns are among the 10 teams, who are exempted from the first preliminary round. They will only enter the competition in the second preliminary round, where they will face the winner between Bendji from Gabon and Bumamuro of Burundi.
Pirates enter the tournament in the first preliminary round and will kick off their tournament against Djabal Club from Comoros. They will then face the winner of Morena Ramoreboli’s Botwana Premier League winner Jwaneng Galaxy and Vispers SC of Uganda.
All first preliminary round fixtures:
The first legs for the first preliminary round will take place between 18 and 20 August, while the second legs will happen a week later between 25 and 27 August.
The second preliminary round is played between 15 and 17 September and 30 Sep to 1 October. All winners of the second preliminary round will qualify for the CAFCL group stages.