Rivers United, which last week became the first Nigerian side to qualify for the group stage of the CAF Champions League since Lobi Stars did so in 2019, yesterday got a tough draw in their maiden outing at this stage of the championship with games against defending champions, Pyramids of Egypt and Morocco’s Renaissance Berkane, which won the Confederation Cup last season.
 
In the draws conducted yesterday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Finidi George’s team, which is the lone Nigerian team playing on the continent, also got two dates with Power Dynamos of Zambia in Group A.
  
Pyramids are the only club among the four that have qualified before for the mini-league phase of the competition, which Nigeria has won only twice through Enyimba in 2003 and 2004.
 
For Rivers United, the game is getting tougher with each game. The Port Harcourt-based side scraped through preliminary round games with marginal 1-0 wins against Aigles of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Black Bulls of Mozambique.
 
Against a Pyramids side, which surprised bookmakers by winning their first Champions League trophy last season by beating South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Rivers United have their task cut out. They must win their home games and get at least one away draw to make it past the group stage.
 
Pyramids beat Berkane 1-0 last month to lift the CAF Super Cup, a yearly match between the winners of the Champions League and the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup.
 
A star-studded field featuring seven former African champions and the reigning title-holders promises one of the most competitive group phases in recent memory.
 
Record 12-time winners Al Ahly anchor Group B, where they meet Tanzania’s Young Africans, Moroccan champions AS FAR, and two-time African champions JS Kabylie, a pool steeped in history and rivalry.
 
Group C pairs perennial contenders Mamelodi Sundowns with Al Hilal, MC Alger and St Éloi Lupopo, clubs with rich pedigrees and fervent followings.
 
Four-time winners Espérance de Tunis headline Group D, alongside Simba SC, Petro de Luanda and Stade Malien, setting up heavyweight duels across the competition.
 
The Group Stage will kick off on the weekend of November 21-23, 2025, with two matchdays to be played before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco next month.
 
The competition will then pause during the continental showpiece and resume on the weekend of January 23-26, 2026.
 
The knockout phase will begin on March 13, 2026. The CAF Champions League winners will receive $4 million in prize money, while the runners-up will earn $2 million.