{"id":64475,"date":"2025-11-22T18:22:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T18:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights"},"modified":"2025-11-22T19:10:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:10:23","slug":"caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights","title":{"rendered":"CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Begins With Heavyweights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>The 2025\/26 CAF Confederation Cup group stage gets underway this weekend, with African heavyweights Zamalek, Kaizer Chiefs, and Wydad Athletic Club all targeting flying starts as they open their respective campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Two-time champions Zamalek will be aiming to make a statement in Group D when they welcome Zambian contenders Zesco United to the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>Backed by their passionate home crowd and boasting a squad rich in continental experience, Zamalek are favourites to secure a strong start as they push for another deep run in the competition.<\/p>\n<p>In Group B, Moroccan giants Wydad Athletic Club are expected to assert their dominance when they host Kenyan debutants Nairobi United at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.<\/p>\n<p>Wydad, one of Africa\u2019s most successful clubs, will be keen to avoid any surprises against a Nairobi side stepping into the group stage for the first time in its history.<\/p>\n<p>South African powerhouse Kaizer Chiefs will also be in action, but their opening test comes on the road.<\/p>\n<p>Amakhosi travel to Cairo for a tricky Group D clash against Al Masry, a team known for its physicality and stubborn defensive play.<\/p>\n<p>Chiefs will look to snatch early away points to set the tone in what promises to be a tightly contested group.<\/p>\n<p>The weekend\u2019s action begins on Saturday with a Group C showdown between CR Belouizdad of Algeria and Tanzania\u2019s Singida Black Stars at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.<\/p>\n<p>Belouizdad will aim to capitalise on home advantage, while Singida look to upset the odds and begin their campaign with a valuable away result.<\/p>\n<p>A packed Sunday schedule features seven matches, including another Tanzanian club, Azam FC, who travel to Kinshasa to face AS Maniema Union at the Stade des Martyrs in a Group B encounter.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides will see this as a crucial fixture in their bid to progress from a competitive group.<\/p>\n<p>In Group A, Algerian Cup holders USM Alger host Ivorian outfit FC San Pedro at the Stade du 5 Juillet, while Mali\u2019s Djoliba AC prepare for a tough test against Moroccan visitors Olympic Club Safi at the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako.<\/p>\n<p>Last season\u2019s semifinalists Stellenbosch FC of South Africa will look to build on their impressive 2024\/25 run when they entertain AS Otoho of Congo-Brazzaville at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The Group C clash promises to be one of Sunday\u2019s highlights as Stellenbosch continue their rise on the continental stage.<\/p>\n<p>Full Fixtures<\/p>\n<p>Saturday, November 22<\/p>\n<p>21:00 \u2013 CR Belouizdad vs Singida Black Stars<\/p>\n<p>Sunday, November 23<\/p>\n<p>15:00 \u2013 AS Maniema Union vs Azam FC<\/p>\n<p>15:00 \u2013 Stellenbosch FC vs AS Otoho<\/p>\n<p>18:00 \u2013 Al Masry vs Kaizer Chiefs<\/p>\n<p>18:00 \u2013 Djoliba vs Olympic Club Safi<\/p>\n<p>21:00 \u2013 USM Alger vs FC San Pedro<\/p>\n<p>21:00 \u2013 Wydad AC vs Nairobi United<\/p>\n<p>21:00 \u2013 Zamalek vs Zesco United<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Lesotho<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. The 2025\/26 CAF Confederation Cup group stage gets underway this weekend, with African heavyweights Zamalek, Kaizer Chiefs, and Wydad Athletic Club all targeting flying starts as they open their respective campaigns. Two-time champions Zamalek will be aiming to make a statement in Group D when they welcome Zambian contenders Zesco United to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":64474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-64475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Begins With Heavyweights - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2025\/26 CAF Confederation Cup group stage gets underway this weekend, with African heavyweights Zamalek, Kaizer Chie ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Begins With Heavyweights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2025\/26 CAF Confederation Cup group stage gets underway this weekend, with African heavyweights Zamalek, Kaizer Chie ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-22T18:22:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-22T19:10:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/sm_1763825896.321174.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1728\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Begins With Heavyweights\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-22T18:22:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-22T19:10:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\"},\"wordCount\":476,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/sm_1763825896.321174.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/caf-confederation-cup-group-stage-begins-with-heavyweights\",\"name\":\"CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage Begins With Heavyweights - 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