CAF interclub competitions: Colombe, Panthère to know preliminary round opponents today.

Colombe Sportif is Cameroon's representative in the continent's flagship club competition, the African Champions League while Panthère Sportive is the country's standard bearer in the second tier showpiece, the African Confederation Cup.

The South Region selection, Colombe Sportif, qualified for the competition after emerging as the winner of the 2025/2026 Elite One championship recently.

Panthère Sportive from the Nde Division of the West Region secured its qualification ticket for the Confederation Cup test after winning the 2025 edition of the Cup of Cameroon in football following a post-match penalty shootout win over Colombe Sportif in the final.

Both Cameroonian clubs are hoping to receive favorite pairings as they look to reach the final phase of the competitions and further challenge for the winners' crowns. 

Colombe Sportif is entering the race for the Champions League for the second successive season. The team made its debut in the competition last season after it overpowered Panthère Sportive in the race to the 2024/2025 Elite One league title.

The team which is managed by renowned Cameroonian trainer Richard Towa was eliminated in last season's Champions League campaign in the second and final round of the preliminaries. The club was knocked out by Algeria's MC Algiers on away goal rule.

This was after the Cameroonian team played a 1-1 draw in Yaounde with the North Africans in the first leg and drew goalless with the team in the return leg in the Algerian capital city.

Before falling in the second round, the club eliminated Senegalese giants ASC Jaraaf football club of Dakar in the first round of the preliminaries after humbling the West Africans with a 1nil aggregate win.

No Cameroonian club has reached the group stage of the CAF Champions League since 2008 finalists Coton Sport of Garoua's run to the stage in the 2022/2023 edition before losing all its six matches in the series.

Enter Panthère Sportive 

Three-time Cup of Cameroon winners, Panthère Sportive are entering the race in the CAF Confederation Cup for the second time in recent times. The team previously participated in the competition in 2010.

The outfit was eliminated in the first round of the 2010 campaign after losing 4-3 on aggregate to 1973 CAF Champions League winners AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Coton Sport of Garoua is the last Cameroonian team to make it to the group phase of the Confederation Cup.

The team left the record when it worked its way to the final round of the 2021/2022 campaign before going on to end the race sitting rock bottom in its Group C after losing three and drawing three of its six matches.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3870 of Thursday August 06, 2026