Rivers United, Shooting Stars to Receive $100,000 Each Despite CAF Early Exits

By Dorcas Francis Koji

Rivers United and Shooting Stars will each receive a $100,000 solidarity payment from the Confederation of African Football despite their early exits from the 2026/27 continental club competitions.

CAF announced the payment scheme during the preliminary-round draws in August, confirming that clubs eliminated at that stage would receive $100,000 each as part of its efforts to support participating teams and strengthen engagement in its inter-club competitions.

The continental body also confirmed that the winners of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League will receive $6m, while the champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will earn $4m.

“Clubs eliminated in the preliminary rounds will each receive a solidarity payment of $100,000,” CAF stated, describing the initiative as part of its continued investment in participating clubs.

Rivers United were eliminated from the Champions League on Sunday after a dramatic encounter with Ivorian side San Pedro.

The 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League runners-up were knocked out on the away-goals rule after the two legs ended 3-3 on aggregate.

Rivers United had secured a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Ivory Coast before falling two goals behind in the return fixture. Despite a late fightback, they were unable to overturn the deficit and secure progression.

Shooting Stars suffered a similar disappointment in the Confederation Cup after surrendering their first-leg advantage against Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien.

The Oluyole Warriors travelled to Tunisia with a 1-0 lead from the opening leg in Abeokuta, but Iyed Belwafi cancelled out their advantage with a 27th-minute goal.

Youssef Habchia then struck in the 68th minute to put Sfaxien ahead in the tie, with Shooting Stars unable to produce the response required to keep their continental campaign alive.

While Rivers United and Shooting Stars have exited, Nigeria still has two clubs competing in the continental competitions.

Nigerian champions Rangers International will face USM Alger, the reigning CAF Confederation Cup winners, in the second preliminary round of the Champions League. The tie will determine which club progresses towards the group stage.

In the Confederation Cup, El-Kanemi Warriors will take on Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca after surviving a difficult second leg against Guinea-Bissau’s UDIB.

El-Kanemi lost the second leg 1-0 but advanced 3-1 on aggregate following their commanding first-leg victory.

Rangers International and El-Kanemi Warriors will also be eligible for the $100,000 solidarity payment should they fail to progress to the lucrative group stages.

The second preliminary round is scheduled for October, while the group stages are set to begin in November. The finals of the 2026/27 CAF inter-club competitions are scheduled to take place between May 9 and May 31, 2027.

South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns are the defending CAF Champions League holders, while Algeria’s USM Alger are the reigning Confederation Cup champions.