CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27: Raja, AS FAR, fixtures and betting
Ranked just below the Champions League, the Confederation Cup is the second club competition in African football ⚽. CAF launched it in 2004 by combining two older tournaments, the Cup Winners' Cup, first held in 1975, and the CAF Cup, introduced in 1992. Its 24th edition, in 2026/27, brings together 56 clubs, 17 of them debutants.
In September, 48 clubs played the first round, paired in 24 home-and-away ties. Eight more were spared that round because of their CAF ranking, Raja CA and AS FAR among them, and they join in the second round, where 32 clubs meet in 16 ties and the exempt sides play the return leg at home. The sixteen winners then play six matchdays in the group phase. In 2025/26 there were four pools, each of four clubs, and the first two of every pool reached the last eight. Only the second-round winners make it into the groups: no clubs knocked out of the Champions League join in this season.
The last eight and the last four are both decided over two legs. If the two legs end level on aggregate, goals scored away from home count first, followed by a penalty shoot-out if needed. The 2027 final will take place between 9 and 31 May, with its format and venue still to be announced.
Raja CA against El Kanemi Warriors
Raja CA, who took third place in the Botola Pro last season with 56 points, are playing in a competition they won in 2018 and 2021. Exempt from the first round thanks to their continental ranking, they meet El Kanemi Warriors, a Nigerian club that knocked out UDIB of Guinea-Bissau: 3:0 in Nigeria on 6 September, then a 0:1 defeat in Guinea-Bissau on 13 September, 3:1 on aggregate. Raja travel for the first leg (16-18 October) and host the return in Casablanca (23-25 October). Champions League winners in 1989, 1997 and 1999, and finalists in 2002, they are one of four former African champions entered this season. The other three are Al Ahly, with 12 titles, AS FAR and Hafia, the Guinean club that won in 1972, 1975 and 1977 but went out in the first round.
AS FAR, last season's Champions League finalists
AS FAR, fourth in the 2025/26 Botola Pro, arrive as runners-up in the latest Champions League. The Rabat club won the Confederation Cup in 2005 and reached the final again in 2006, and their Champions League title dates from 1985. In the second round they face CO Korhogo of Côte d'Ivoire, newcomers to the competition: after a 2:2 draw against AS PSI of Chad on 4 September, the Ivorians won 2:0 on 13 September, 4:2 on aggregate. AS FAR are away first, in the 16-18 October window, and host the return in Rabat a week later.
Morocco's record in the competition
Moroccan clubs have lifted the trophy eight times, through five different clubs, including this season's two entrants, AS FAR and Raja CA. RS Berkane, with three titles, share the best record since 2004 with CS Sfaxien, but they are playing in the Champions League this season:
Year | Winner |
|---|---|
2005 | AS FAR |
2010 | FUS Rabat |
2011 | MAS de Fès |
2018 | Raja CA |
2020 | RS Berkane |
2021 | Raja CA |
2022 | RS Berkane |
2025 | RS Berkane |
Last season, two other Moroccan clubs made their mark: Wydad AC topped Group B with 15 points and Olympique Safi finished second in Group A with 13. The two then met in an all-Moroccan quarter-final, which Olympique Safi came through, 3:3 on aggregate, before going on to reach the semi-finals.
The 2026/27 calendar
Group matchdays fall on the weekends of 27 to 29 November, 4 to 6 December and 18 to 20 December 2026, then 8 to 10, 15 to 17 and 22 to 24 January 2027. The quarter-finals are due from 26 to 28 February and from 5 to 7 March, the semi-finals from 9 to 11 and from 16 to 18 April 2027. Match dates within each window will be fixed by CAF, and there is no date yet for the draw that will set the groups.
Betting on CAF Confederation Cup from Morocco
In a knockout tie, what happens in the first leg reshapes the return-leg prices: result, double chance, over/under goals and handicap lines. Bets on the overall winner can be placed at any point of the competition. With Raja and AS FAR both starting away, their return legs in Casablanca and Rabat on the weekend of 23 to 25 October decide who reaches the groups. From kick-off, live football keeps the odds moving minute by minute, the Football section groups the Botola Pro with the leagues abroad, and all upcoming matches let you slot an African tie into an accumulator.
Payments are handled in dirhams (MAD) 💳, with top-ups through CIH Bank, Attijari's L'bankalik, Al Barid Bank or cash at a Cash Plus point. Register with 1xBet before 16 October to follow Raja and AS FAR from the second round.