Dar es Salaam. Representatives from Tanzania in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup Mlandege, Simba SC, and Young Africans (Yanga SC), alongside KMKM, Singida Black Stars, and Azam FC will all start their campaigns away from home and conclude the opening round on home soil, following the outcome of the draws held Saturday, in Dar es Salaam.
For the first time, Tanzania hosted the official draw for these continental competitions, which will kick off with the preliminary round on September 19, 2025.
The second round will follow on October 17, with the group stage set to begin on November 21 of the same year.
Yanga’s Challenge in Angola
Tanzania’s reigning champions, Young Africans SC, have been paired against Wiliete SC from Benguela, Angola.
Wiliete, a club founded just six years ago, boasts among its players Mahlatsi Makudubela, a former Yanga player.
In the 2024/25 season of Angola’s top-flight league, the Girabola, Wiliete finished second with 60 points eight behind champions Petro Atletico who amassed 68 points.
This will be Wiliete’s debut appearance in the CAF Champions League.
Simba’s Trip to Gaborone
Simba SC will return to Botswana, this time to face Gaborone United SC, a change from last year when they traveled to Jwaneng for a group stage match against Jwaneng Galaxy FC, which they famously won 6–0.
Gaborone United, established 58 years ago, are the current Botswana Premier League champions, clinching the title with 66 points, scoring 56 goals and conceding 23, while losing only four matches.
This will be their third appearance in the CAF Champions League the first in 2010 ended in the second round, while in the 2022/23 season, they exited in the preliminary round after a 3–2 aggregate defeat to AS Vita Club of DR Congo.
Mlandege Face Ethiopian Test
Zanzibar Premier League winners Mlandege will meet Ethiopia’s Eth. Insurance, who are making their first appearance in the competition after winning their domestic league.
Their only prior CAF club competition experience dates back to the 1990s in the now-defunct CAF Cup.
According to the draw, the winner between Wiliete and Yanga will meet the victor between Madagascar’s Elgeco Plus and Malawi’s Silver Strikers in the next round.
Meanwhile, the winner of Gaborone United vs. Simba will face either Simba Bhora of Zimbabwe or Nsingizini Hotspurs from Eswatini.
The winner between Eth. Insurance and Mlandege will play against either Rwanda’s APR FC or Egypt’s Pyramids FC.
Confederation Cup Fixtures
In the Confederation Cup, Zanzibar’s KMKM will take on AS Port from Djibouti a tie expected to be tightly contested given the international experience of both teams.
Dar es Salaam’s Azam FC will face El Merrikh Bentiu of South Sudan, while Singida Black Stars, a steadily improving force in Tanzanian football, will travel to Rwanda to meet Rayon Sports, a club with one of the biggest fan bases in the region and a history of reaching the CAF group stages.
The draw outcome means that the winner of AS Port vs. KMKM will face the victor between El Merrikh Bentiu and Azam FC in the second round, raising the possibility of two Tanzanian teams meeting at that stage.
Additionally, the winner between Burundi’s Flambeau du Centre and a yet-to-be-determined Libyan side will play against the winner of Rayon Sports vs Singida Black Stars.
