Gor Mahia will begin their 2026/27 CAF Champions League campaign against Egyptian side Pyramids FC, knowing the competition’s winner will earn a record US$6 million, equivalent to about KSh776 million.
CAF has retained the US$6 million Champions League winners’ prize for the 2026/27 season. The amount is US$2 million higher than the US$4 million previously paid to the champions, a 50 percent increase announced earlier this year.
It is the financial target at the end of a campaign that requires Gor to win two two-legged knockout ties before reaching the 16-team group phase, then survive the group and knockout rounds.
Gor, Kenya’s reigning league champions, host Pyramids in the first preliminary-round first leg at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday, September 6, at 3 pm.
The return is scheduled for September 13 in Cairo. CAF’s calendar sets the first preliminary round for September 4-6 and September 11-13, before the second preliminary round on October 16-18 and October 23-25.
Gor’s Tough Test Ahead
The first tie is one of the more difficult preliminary-round assignments.
Pyramids won their first CAF Champions League crown in 2025, beating Mamelodi Sundowns 3-2 on aggregate.
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The winner over the two legs will face either South Sudan’s El Merriekh Bentiu or Somalia’s Heegan SC in the second preliminary round. Victory in that tie would take Gor into the group stage, which begins with Matchday One from November 27 to 29.
The remaining group fixtures are scheduled for December 4-6, December 18-20, January 8-10, January 15-17 and January 22-24.
CAF will have 16 clubs in the group stage, and every point thereafter carries sporting and financial value.
The quarter-final first legs are fixed for February 26-28, 2027, with return matches from March 5-7.
Semi-final first legs are set for April 9-11 and the returns for April 16-18. CAF has allocated the final to the May 9-31 window.
For Gor, the headline US$6 million figure should not obscure the immediate position. The full sum is payable only to the eventual champions.
CAF’s current calendar confirms the US$6 million figure as the prize for winning the Champions League, making it the largest financial incentive in the competition.
Teams knocked out in the preliminary rounds are due a US$100,000 solidarity payment, about KSh12.9 million, according to reports on CAF’s 2026/27 arrangement.
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That payment offers some protection against travel, accommodation, match organization and player costs, but it is far below the proceeds available to clubs that reach the group stage and progress deeper into the competition.
Gor’s Champions League record
Gor Mahia will begin the 2026/27 CAF Champions League still seeking their first appearance in the competition’s group stage.
K’Ogalo’s recent campaigns have repeatedly ended in the qualifying rounds, with the club’s furthest progress coming in the second preliminary round.
Their latest attempt, in the 2024/25 season, began with a 5-2 aggregate victory over South Sudan’s El Merriekh Bentiu.
Gor lost the first leg 1-0 before responding with a 5-1 win at Nyayo National Stadium.
The comeback set up a second preliminary-round meeting with defending champions Al Ahly, but the Egyptian side won 3-0 in Nairobi and 3-0 in Cairo to eliminate Gor 6-0 on aggregate.
Gor also reached the second preliminary round in the 2020/21 campaign after beating Rwanda’s APR 4-3 on aggregate.
However, Algeria’s CR Belouizdad ended their run with an 8-1 aggregate victory.
Gor’s greatest continental achievement remains the 1987 African Cup Winners’ Cup, not the Champions League.
They remain Kenya’s only winners of a CAF club competition after beating Espérance on away goals in the final.
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