The CAF Champions League round of 32 return matches concluded over the weekend with 16 teams making the groups phase of this year’s tournament.

All the big guns including the defending champions Wydad Casablanca, record eight times winners Al Ahly and TP Mzambe made the cut.

DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, who are five times champions, made a return to the table of men after two seasons in the cold.

For the umpteenth time, North Africa is dominating the list with seven qualifiers; two less than last season’s tally, Southern Africa have five, West Africa two while Central and East Africa managed to produce a team each.

Five teams will be appearing in the lucrative phase of the continent’s top interclub tournament for the first time in their existence.

They include AS Togo Port (Togo), Mbabane Swallows (Swaziland), KCCA (Uganda), Township Rollers (Botswana) and Horoya (Guinea).

The sixteen losers automatically dropped into the CAF Confederations Cup playoffs round where they will meet the tournament’s first round finalists.

The draw for the Champions League groups’ stage and the Confederations Cup playoffs round will take place Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt.

The 2018 CAF Champions League groups stage qualifiers;

KCCA (Uganda), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Difaa El Jadidi (Morocco), Zesco (Zambia), AS Togo (Togo), Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia), Esperance (Tunisia), ES Setif (Algeria), Primeiro de Agosto (Angola), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Township Rollers (Botswana), Horoya (Guinea), MC Alger (Algeria), Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), Mbabane Swallows (Swaziland)

The 16 losers;

Bidvest Wits (South Africa), ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire), Williamsville AC (Cote d’Ivoire), AS Vita (DR Congo), Saint George (Ethiopia), Gor Mahia (Kenya), CF Mounana (Gabon), Aduana Stars (Ghana), UD Songo (Mozambique), MFM FC (Nigeria), Plateau United (Nigeria), Rayon Sports (Rwanda), Generation Foot (Senegal), El Hilal (Sudan), Young Africans (Tanzania), Zanaco (Zambia)