CAF Champions League betting guide

The CAF Champions League is Africa’s top club competition, and its two-legged knockout ties make it different to bet on from a domestic league. The 2025/26 final was played over two legs between Mamelodi Sundowns and AS FAR, on 17 May 2026 in Tshwane and 24 May 2026 in Rabat.

Format: groups, then two legs

After the qualifying rounds, 16 clubs are drawn into four groups of four. Each club plays the other three home and away, and the top two in each group reach the quarter-finals. From there every round, the final included, is played over two legs, one at each club’s home ground.

That structure gives six group games per club and up to six more in the knockouts, so a club that reaches the final plays twelve matches in the competition proper. Squad depth matters across a CAF Champions League run. It counts most for clubs also chasing a league title, where a midweek trip can follow a weekend derby.

Match markets or to qualify

In a two-legged tie you can bet on each match or on the tie as a whole:

• Match markets, such as 1X2, goals and handicaps, settle on that leg’s 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
• To qualify settles on which club goes through after both legs, extra time and penalties included.

A club that wins the first leg 2-0 at home is a short price to qualify, while the second-leg match price can still favour the other side at its own ground.

Know which market you are on before the stake goes in. The first-leg score also shapes the second leg’s goals, since a side defending a lead plays differently.

Travel, home advantage and the clubs

Long flights, heat, humidity, altitude and crowded schedules all weigh on away sides. A club travelling from North Africa to East or Southern Africa faces a long trip between league and continental fixtures. In first legs, the draw and under 2.5 goals deserve a look.

Al Ahly of Egypt are the competition’s most successful club, and Espérance, Wydad, AS FAR and Mamelodi Sundowns are regulars in the late rounds. East African fans also follow Simba SC and Young Africans of Tanzania, who have reached the group stage in recent seasons.

Bookmakers price the big names short at home. Their away-leg and to-qualify prices are where shopping around pays.

A locally licensed site in your currency is the place to bet: a Gaming Board licence in Tanzania, the GRA in Kenya and a provincial board in South Africa. For two-legged ties, the Asian handicap is an alternative to a short match price; see handicap betting explained.