Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, Enugu Rangers and runners-up Rivers United, will on Wednesday know their opponents, in next year’s CAF Champions League.
Rangers last featured in the competition in 2013, while Rivers United (as Dolphins) played in the 2012 edition.
The preliminary rounds of the Champions League will begin in February 2017, while the group stage kicks off in May.
Wikki Tourists and FC IfeanyiUbah, will also be drawn in the preliminary rounds of the CAF Confederations Cup – the second-tier continental club competition in Africa. No Nigerian club have won this competition since it was founded in 2004.
Starting from 2017, both competitions will now have 16 teams at the group stage.
After the group stages, 32 teams will qualify for the round of 16 in both competitions. The winners of this round will then be drawn against each other, in four groups of four teams each.
The first two will then progress into the quarter-finals, which opens up a new phase of knockout games.
These changes means the CAF Champions League will now run from March to November, while the Confederation Cup will end in December.
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