CAF have released the official Club Ranking ahead of the start of the 2026/27 CAF inter-club competitions, with Mamelodi Sundowns in top spot, as revealed by iDiski Times.
Sundowns moved ahead of Al Ahly after lifting their second CAF Champions League title and based on their deep runs into the latter stages of the competition over the last five years.
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As a consequence, Sundowns will be among the teams with the highest five-year coefficient and exempted from the first qualifying round, entering the tournament only in the second qualifying round.
Orlando Pirates, meanwhile, appear in 19th in the ranking and thus will have to play in both qualifying rounds for the CAF Champions League. The Buccaneers were eliminated by Saint-Eloi Lupopo in the second qualifying round last season.
The year before they reached the semi-finals and the Buccaneers need a similar successful campaign if they want to move up the ranking – which will count as qualifier for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup – again.
Stellenbosch FC sit in 21st after their recent exploits in the CAF Confederations Cup, while Marumo Gallants draw from their CAFCC campaign in 2022/23 when they reached the semi-finals.
Bahlabane Ba Ntwa find themselves in 37th position, one ahead of Kaizer Chiefs, who were eliminated from the CAFCC group stages last season.
But unlike Chiefs, Gallants and Stellenbosch will not be able to better their ranking this campaign, having failed to qualify for a CAF inter-club competition, with South Africa’s fourth representative being newbies Durban City after winning the Nedbank Cup.
Updated CAF 5-year ranking below:
(You can find an explanation how the positions are calculated HERE.)
