The Confederation of African Football (CAF), has released the registration and match dates for the Preliminary Round of the CAF Inter Club competitions for the 2025/26 season.
Registration for the competitions will kick off effectively on August 1, 2025 and end on August 31, 2025. Each club is expected to register maximum 40 players and use 11 players in a match with nine players and nine officials on the bench with five players coming on as substitutes during the changes for substitution under the new directives.
The 2025/26 Interclub season is starting in September due to the organization of the CHAN tournament during the month of August; as a result, the deadline of engagement has been extended to July 31, 2025 instead of the regulatory engagement deadline of June 30, 2025.
The second registration window opens from September 1-30, 2025, while the group stage and knockout phase registration is fixed for October 1-31, 2025.
The first leg of the first preliminary matches will be played on the weekend of September 19-21, 2025, and September 26-28, 2025.
The final of the 2025/26 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup is scheduled between May 8 and 24, 2026.
CAF has also stated that the additional of the second preliminary round of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup is still cancelled. Consequently, teams eliminated in the second preliminary round of the CAF Champions League will no longer transition into the Confederation Cup.
Teams that advance from the second preliminary round of the Confederation Cup will proceed directly to the group stage.
Ghana Premier League winners Bibiani Gold Stars and Asante Kotoko SC who won the FA Cup, will represent the nation in the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup.