The final of the CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 will be staged between USM Alger of Algeria and Egypt’s Zamalek SC, with the first leg in Algiers on Saturday, 9 April (kick-off 20h00 local time | 19h00 GMT).
The return fixture will be played in Cairo on 16 May (21h00 local time | 18h00 GMT), where the champions for this campaign will be crowned.
Ahead of the final, we pick out 10 interesting facts from the season to date.
An all-North African final
This will be the ninth time that the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup features two teams from North Africa and the fifth time in the last eight deciders. It will be the first time, though, that an Algerian side has met Egyptian opposition in the final. The semi-finals were also all-North African affairs, with CR Belouizdad of Algeria and Olympique Safi of Morocco reaching that stage too.
There will be a repeat winner
USM Alger won the competition in 2023, while Zamalek lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2024. USM are already the most successful side from Algeria in the competition, while Zamalek can join the top of the all-time winners’ list alongside RS Berkane of Morocco and Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien, who both have three titles to their name. Neither USM nor Zamalek have lost a final before in this competition.
Campaign built on defence
Zamalek won Group D despite scoring only six goals in the pool phase, the fewest of any team who advanced to the knockout rounds. Since then, they have managed four more goals for 10 scored in their last 10 games in the competition. Their campaign has been built on defence, with only six conceded in their 12 games this term, including the preliminary stage. No team has managed to score more than one goal against them in their last 18 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup matches, since a 2-2 draw at Enyimba in December 2024.
USM get the better of Safi
USM faced semi-final opponents Olympique Safi of Morocco four times in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 and did not lose any of them, a big reason why they find themselves in the final. USM won their first group-stage clash 1-0, before the second ended 0-0 in Algeria. That was the same scoreline in the semi-final first leg, before the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture. Safi managed just one goal from 41 shots and an expected-goals tally of 3.4 across those meetings. Safi’s last five games in the competition all ended in draws.
Penalty kings
Since the start of last season, USM Alger have been awarded the joint-most penalties (5) and have scored the most (4) in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup. They have a way of drawing spot-kicks out of their opponents and have been mostly accurate from 12 yards.
Running out of steam
Algerian side CR Belouizdad scored at least once in their first nine matches in the competition this season, then failed to score in their last three, including both semi-final legs against Zamalek. It was still a record campaign for the team, but they lost their touch in front of goal when it mattered most.
Chiefs had 10 points and still went out
Kaizer Chiefs finished third in Group D despite collecting 10 points, the same total as Al Masry, who advanced. By contrast, AS Otoho qualified from Group C with only nine points, showing how unforgiving Group D was. The last time that happened was in the 2023/24 season, when Tunisian side Club Africain managed 10 points in Group C but still finished third.
Nairobi United lose every group-stage match
Debutants Nairobi United will be a better side for their TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup experience, but it was a tough road. They reached the group stage, but then lost all six of their pool-phase matches, scoring just a single goal and conceding 11 times. But the players will have learnt a lot and will come back better for it
The prize-money jump is historic
The TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 winners will receive USD 4 million, double the previous USD 2 million prize. This represents a 220% increase from the USD 1.25 million the winners received in 2021, when Dr Patrice Motsepe took over as CAF President. He has vowed to continue investing in CAF Interclub football to grow the game on the continent.
Record participation
There were a record 58 clubs entered in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup this season, up from 52 the year before. This is no doubt due to the USD 100,000 given to clubs who exit in the preliminary stage, easing the financial burden on them taking part. This is exactly why CAF introduced the subvention: to grow participation.
SOURCE: CAF ONLINE
