New African champions Pyramids of Egypt will begin the defence of their Champions League crown in the first round next month, but the team they beat in last season’s final have been granted a bye into the second round.

South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns lost 3-2 on aggregate to Pyramids in the final last season, but because of a higher ranking are one of only two clubs given passage into the second round of this season’s competition.

The other is Al Ahly of Egypt, who have won the Champions League a record 12 times and appeared in five of the last six finals, winning four of them.

A record number of 62 entries for the Champions League means only two clubs do not have to compete in the first round, which will be over two legs on the weekends of September 19-21 and September 26–28.

Knockout matches

Two rounds of knockout matches are played to determine the 16 teams who go into the league phase, which will get underway in late November.

In the draw conducted in Dar-es-Salaam on Saturday, Pyramids were pitted against APR FC from Rwanda in the first round, playing the return leg at home in Cairo, and should they progress, will take on the winners of the tie between Ethiopia Medhin or Mlandege from Zanzibar.

There are a record 58 entrants in the African Confederation Cup, spurred on by a $100,000 grant for each participant to help with costs of competing.

Last season, each club in both continental club competitions received a $50,000 grant, which was the first time financial assistance had been offered by the Confederation of African Football.

Confederation Cup draw

Competing in African club competitions can be financially draining because of the high travel costs.

In the Confederation Cup draw, which was also conducted on Saturday, past winners Zamalek of Egypt and USM Alger were handed byes into the second round, but Tunisia’s Etoile Sahel, another previous victor, start in the first round against Sudan's Al Ahli Madani.