Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
GIANTS Dynamos and reigning Castle Lager Premiership champions Scottland are in for a defining week as they prepare to join Africa’s football elite in Thursday’s preliminary draw for the 2026/27 CAF inter-club competitions.
The draw, to be conducted in Cairo, Egypt, will unveil the road ahead for the Zimbabwean representatives as they seek to make their mark on the continent’s biggest club competitions.
The week begins today with another significant moment for Zimbabwean football when serial women’s champions Herentals Queens take part in the draw for the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifier in Botswana.
While Dynamos and Herentals Queens are familiar with the demands of continental football, much of the spotlight will be on ambitious newcomers Scottland, whose meteoric rise has captured the imagination of local football followers and the region.
After winning the domestic league title in their debut Premiership campaign, Scottland are now preparing for the CAF Champions League in only their second season in top-flight football.
Scottland will represent Zimbabwe in the premier CAF Champions League, while record three-time Chibuku Super Cup winners Dynamos return to the CAF Confederation Cup.
Expectations are understandably high. Both clubs have invested heavily in strengthening their squads and technical departments as they seek to end Zimbabwe’s long struggle for relevance on the continental stage.
Zimbabwean clubs have generally fallen short in CAF competitions in recent years, but there is renewed optimism that the country’s representatives can compete more effectively this time around.
Scottland, in particular, have assembled a formidable squad by local standards and continue to strengthen ahead of their continental debut.
Last week, the Mabvuku-based side unveiled four foreign recruits, including Nigerian centre-back Al-Ameen Kehinde Tijani, Namibian winger Stoffel Witbeen, Cameroonian striker Nevile Tengeg, and Brazilian winger Anderson Cardoso de Campos. They have also secured the services of Zimbabwean diaspora talent Seth Patrick.
The club already boasts an impressive contingent of foreign players, among them Ghanaian midfielder Issaka Mohammed, Moses Shidolo, Nickson Nyasulu, and adventurous left-back Kwake Thwala.
Their local contingent is equally impressive, featuring household names such as former Warriors captain Knowledge Musona, Khama Billiat, Aboubakar Moffat, Emmanuel Jalai and Walter Musona.
With significant financial backing and an abundance of talent, Scottland appear well-equipped to mount a credible challenge in Africa.
Some of the clubs they could face on their maiden Champions League campaign include MC Alger, Petro de Luanda, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns, Aigle Noir, Power Dynamos, Rahimo FC, Foullah Edifice, Horoya AC, ASEC Mimosas, Mighty Wanderers, UD Songo, Foresters FC, FC Nouadhibou, El Merrikh Bentiu, Gaborone United, La Cure Waves, Club Africain, African Stars, Lijabatho FC, Rangers International, Rivers United, Esperance de Tunis, APR FC, Medeama SC, FC San Pedro, Wiliete, Nsingizini Hotspurs and Watanga FC.
South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns enter the new campaign as defending CAF Champions League champions.
Dynamos, meanwhile, will also face a tough assignment in the Confederation Cup, where they join fellow Southern African representatives Durban City, Red Arrows, Silver Strikers, Jwaneng Galaxy, Atomic Ngomé, FC Rouge, and the University of Namibia in pursuit of continental glory.
Algerian side, USM Alger, are the reigning CAF Confederation Cup champions
To their credit, Dynamos have been enjoying an unprecedented period of stability ahead of their return to the CAF Confederation Cup.
Unlike the last edition when they had to withdraw due to financial incapacitation and chaos on the playing field, DeMbare are better prepared this time around.
Their marriage with AfricaBet has brought some form of stability on and off the pitch. DeMbare have improved their performance and have also beefed up their squad, bringing in experienced foreign players in Congolese defender Isaac Landu, goalkeeper Idrissou Nfor, and Ghanaians Frank Agyemang and Christopher Netty.
They also recently announced the arrival of Burkina Faso winger Ben Daouda Sidibe and have also been chasing highly rated midfielder Godknows Dzakpasu from Ghana, Burundian attacking midfielder Ramela Harerimana, and Ghanaian defender Desmond Obeng.
The CAF Inter-club competitions come with lucrative financial rewards, apart from the exposure.
The winner of the CAF Champions League will receive $6 million in prize money, while the CAF Confederation Cup champions will earn $4 million.
Clubs eliminated in the preliminary rounds will each receive a solidarity payment of US$100 000, part of CAF’s continued investment in supporting participating teams and increasing engagement in its Inter-club competitions.
CAF announced that the 2026/27 season will kick-off with the First Preliminary Round on September 4-6 (first leg), followed by the return legs from September 11-13.
The Second Preliminary Round is scheduled for October 16-18, with the decisive return fixtures taking place between October 23-25.
Following the completion of the preliminary stages, the group phase of both competitions will begin at the end of November.
The women’s competition will take a different format. Herentals are set to participate in the regional qualifiers set for Botswana from August 20-29, with eight teams participating.
The teams include hosts and defending champions Gaborone United Ladies, last year’s finalists ZESCO Ndola Girls from Zambia, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Costa do Sol from Mozambique, Lesotho Defence Force, and debutants Nsingizini Hotspurs of Eswatini and Silver Strikers from Malawi.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, with hosts and defending champions Gaborone United automatically placed in position A1, while Mamelodi Sundowns, the highest-ranked side over the last three editions, occupies position B1.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semi-finals. Costa do Sol and last year’s runners-up ZESCO Ndola Girls make up the next ranking level and will be placed together in Pot 1. Herentals Queens, Lesotho Defence Force, Nsingizini Hotspurs, and Silver Strikers form Pot 2.
The first team drawn from Pot 1 will be placed in Group A, with a second draw determining their position in the pool. The remaining Pot 1 team will then go into Group B, with their place in that group also decided through a separate positional draw.
The same procedure will then be followed for the four teams in Pot 2. They will be drawn alternately into Groups A and B, with further draws determining their positions in the respective pools until both groups contain four teams.
Herentals Queens reached the last four in 2024, losing to Gaborone United, and this remains their best finish to date.
