Confederation of African Football

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Confederation of African Football
AbbreviationCAF
Founded8 February 1957; 67 years ago (1957-02-08)
Founded atKhartoum, Sudan
Headquarters6th of October City, Giza, Egypt
Region served
Africa
Membership
54 member associations[1]
Patrice Motsepe
Vice Presidents
Véron Mosengo-Omba
Parent organization
FIFA
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.cafonline.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Confederation of African Football (CAF)[a] (in French Confédération Africaine de Football) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel[2] in Khartoum, Sudan[3] by the national football associations of: Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa.[4] following formal discussions between the aforementioned associations at the FIFA Congress held on 7 June 1956 at Avenida Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.[5]

Representing the African confederation of FIFA, CAF organizes runs and regulates national team and club continental competitions annually or biennially such as the Africa Cup of Nations and Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they control the prize money and broadcast rights to. CAF will be allocated 9 spots at the FIFA World Cup starting from 2026 and could have an opportunity of 10 spots with the addition of an intercontinental play-off tournament involving 6 teams to decide the last 2 FIFA World Cup places (46+2).

The main headquarters of CAF was first situated within the offices of the Sudanese Football Association in Khartoum until it experienced a fire outbreak and then moved to a town near Cairo, Egypt until 2002. Youssef Mohamad was the first general secretary and Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem, the first president. President Patrice Motsepe from South Africa was elected on 12 March 2021 in an unopposed elections held in Rabat, Morocco.[6][7]

History[edit]

Anthem[edit]

CAF launched a competition for all African composers to create its anthem without lyrics to reflect the cultural patrimony and the music of Africa on 18 September 2007.[8]

Leadership[edit]

Name Position
South Africa Patrice Motsepe President
Senegal Augustin Senghor 1st Vice President
Mauritania Ahmed Yahya 2nd Vice President
Djibouti Waberi Souleiman 3rd Vice President
Cameroon Seidou Mbombo Njoya 4th Vice President
Comoros Kanizat Ibrahim 5th Vice President
Democratic Republic of the Congo Véron Mosengo-Omba General Secretary
Ghana Frederick Acheampong General Coordinator

Sources:[9][10]

Members and zones[edit]

Members[edit]

African regional federations
  UNAF (North Africa)
  WAFU (West Africa)
  UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
  CECAFA (East Africa)
  COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Code Association National teams Founded FIFA affiliation CAF affiliation Regional affiliation IOC member
Union of North African Football (UNAF) (5)
ALG  Algeria 1962 1963 1964 2005 Yes
EGY  Egypt [b] 1921 1923 1957 2005 Yes
LBY  Libya 1962 1964 1965 2005 Yes
MAR  Morocco 1955 1960 1959 2005 Yes
TUN  Tunisia 1957 1960 1960 2005 Yes
West African Football Union (WAFU) (16)
BEN  Benin 1962 1962 1962 1975 Yes
BFA  Burkina Faso 1960 1964 1964 1975 Yes
CPV  Cape Verde 1982 1986 2000 1975 Yes
GAM  Gambia 1952 1968 1966 1975 Yes
GHA  Ghana 1957 1958 1958 1975 Yes
GUI  Guinea 1960 1962 1963 1975 Yes
GNB  Guinea-Bissau 1974 1986 1986 1975 Yes
CIV  Ivory Coast 1960 1964 1960 1975 Yes
LBR  Liberia 1936 1964 1962 1975 Yes
MLI  Mali 1960 1963 1963 1975 Yes
MTN  Mauritania 1961 1970 1968 1975 Yes
NIG  Niger 1962 1967 1967 1975 Yes
NGA  Nigeria 1945 1960 1960 1975 Yes
SEN  Senegal 1960 1964 1964 1975 Yes
SLE  Sierra Leone 1960 1960 1960 1975 Yes
TOG  Togo 1960 1962 1964 1975 Yes
Central African Football Federations' Union (UNIFFAC) (8)
CMR  Cameroon 1959 1962 1963 1978 Yes
CTA  Central African Republic 1961 1964 1965 1978 Yes
CHA  Chad 1962 1964 1964 1978 Yes
CGO  Congo 1962 1964 1966 1978 Yes
COD  DR Congo 1919 1964 1964 1978 Yes
EQG  Equatorial Guinea 1957 1986 1986 1978 Yes
GAB  Gabon 1962 1966 1967 1978 Yes
STP  São Tomé and Príncipe 1975 1986 1986 1978 Yes
Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) (12)
BDI  Burundi 1948 1972 1972 1994 Yes
DJI  Djibouti 1979 1994 1994 1995 Yes
ERI  Eritrea 1996 1998 1998 1973 Yes
ETH  Ethiopia 1943 1952 1957 1994 Yes
KEN  Kenya 1960 1960 1968 1973 Yes
RWA  Rwanda 1972 1978 1978 1994 Yes
SOM  Somalia 1951 1962 1968 1973 Yes
SSD  South Sudan 2011 2012 2012 2012 Yes
SDN  Sudan 1936 1948 1957 1975 Yes
TAN  Tanzania 1930 1964 1964 1973 Yes
UGA  Uganda 1924 1960 1960 1973 Yes
ZAN  Zanzibar[c] 1965 1980 1973 & 2003 No
Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) (14)
ANG  Angola 1979 1980 1980 1997 Yes
BOT  Botswana 1970 1978 1976 1997 Yes
COM  Comoros 1979 2005 2005 2007 Yes
SWZ  Eswatini 1968 1978 1978 1997 Yes
LES  Lesotho 1932 1964 1964 1997 Yes
MAD  Madagascar 1961 1964 1963 2000 Yes
MWI  Malawi 1966 1968 1968 1997 Yes
MRI  Mauritius 1952 1964 1963 2000 Yes
MOZ  Mozambique 1976 1980 1980 1997 Yes
NAM  Namibia 1990 1992 1992 1997 Yes
SEY  Seychelles 1979 1986 1986 2000 Yes
RSA  South Africa[d] 1991 1992 1992 1997 Yes
ZAM  Zambia 1929 1964 1964 1997 Yes
ZIM  Zimbabwe 1965 1965 1980 1997 Yes
Non-regional members
REU  Réunion[c] 1926 2004 No

Additionally, there are territories located in Africa which are not affiliated with CAF or any other confederation to any extent.

Some African states with limited or no international recognition have official national teams, but none have been considered for CAF membership. Instead, they are affiliated with organizations such as CONIFA.

Competitions[edit]

CAF competitions[edit]

International[edit]

Shortly after formation, CAF organized the Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated AFCON) in 1957 and it has since become its flagship competition. Faced with undisclosed decline in popularity of local competitions and the mass exodus of homegrown footballers to Europe, Asia and the Americas in the 1990s and early 2000s, CAF launched the African Nations Championship (alternatively, though not widely used, the Championship of African Nations (CHAN)) on 11 September 2007 and began organization two years later, to address this issue. CAF also organizes qualification tournaments/competitions for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the FIFA U-17 World Cup for its member associations; both of which initially began on a home-and-away two-legged basis but has since 1995 been organized in appointed host countries as respectively the Under-20 and U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

For women's football operates competitions which currently serve as qualification tournaments for the related FIFA-organized tournaments which launched at the exact same year they began formation. The flagship African women's football competition/tournament is the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which launched in 1991 as the African Women's Championship and was known in the mass media between 2015 and 2021 as the Africa/African Women/Women's Cup of Nations, which currently qualifies 4 teams to the FIFA Women's World Cup. CAF also organizes qualification matches for "promising future female footballers" at both the Under-20 and Under-17 levels, launched in 2002 and 2008 respectively, both of which crowns no champions but instead qualifies 2 teams to compete at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup respectively.

Club[edit]

For African clubs, CAF runs the CAF Men's and Women's Champions League, the CAF Confederation Cup, the CAF Super Cup and the African Schools Football Championship for both males and females. First held in 1964 as the African Cup of Champions Clubs (simply known sometimes as the African Cup) and rebranded in 1997 as the CAF Champions League, this "prestigious" football club competition currently features the champions of top-division leagues of CAF member associations and the runners-up teams of the league classifications of member associations the top 12 ranked national associations as documented by the CAF 5-year ranking system.

A currently-former competition, the African Cup Winners' Cup, commenced in 1975 for national cup winners of member associations and a third currently-former competition, the CAF Cup, launched in 1992 for African teams who finished below the top 2 positions of the league classifications of member associations and haven't met any criteria for qualification to any CAF competition. CAF decided to merge these two competitions together to form the current second-tier CAF Confederation Cup in 2004, and it currently incoporates the participation of national cup winners from the Cup Winners' Cup, whiles maintaining the format of the participation of teams who finished 3rd in the top-division league classifications of the 12 highest-ranked member associations as documented by the CAF 5-Year Ranking system from the CAF Cup. It is also ranked below the CAF Champions League.[12]

The winners of the CAF Champions League play the winners of the African Cup Winners' Cup until 2004 and the CAF Confederation Cup thereafter in the CAF Super Cup which was launched in 1993.

The Afro-Asian Club Championship was an annual football match jointly organized between CAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the winners of the AFC Champions League between 1987 and 1999.

The CAF Women's Champions League was announced and approved on 30 June 2020, launched on 12 September that year and began contesting the following year, i.e. 2021.[13][14] It features women's national league and cup winners nvolving the champions of CAF's sub-confederation qualification tournaments for women's club teams.

Current title holders[edit]

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition Dates
National teams
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 (final)  Ivory Coast 3rd  Nigeria 2025 (final) Qualification:
18 March 2024 – 19 November 2024

Finals:
June – July 2025
African Nations Championship 2022 (final)  Senegal 1st  Algeria 2024 Qualification:
U-23 Cup of Nations 2023  Morocco 1st  Egypt 2027
Men's African Games Tournament 2019  Burkina Faso 1st  Nigeria 2023
U-20 Cup of Nations[e] 2023  Senegal 1st  Gambia 2025
U-17 Cup of Nations[f] 2023  Senegal 1st  Morocco 2025
Futsal Cup of Nations 2020  Morocco 2nd  Egypt 2024
Youth Olympic Futsal Qualifying Tournament 2018  Egypt 1st  Angola 2026
Beach Soccer Cup of Nations 2022  Senegal 7th  Egypt TBD To be determined (TBD)
National teams (women)
Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2022 (final)  South Africa 1st  Morocco 2024 (final) Qualification:
To be determined (TBD)


Finals:
To be determined (TBD)
Women's African Games Tournament 2019  Nigeria 3rd  Cameroon 2023
African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification 2024  Cameroon
 Ghana
 Morocco
 Nigeria
1st
7th
1st
10th
 Ethiopia
 Senegal
 Egypt
 Burundi
TBD
African U-17 Women's World Cup qualification 2022  Tanzania
 Nigeria
 Morocco
1st
6th
1st
 Cameroon
 Ethiopia
 Ghana
2024
Club teams
Super Cup 2023 Algeria USM Alger 1st Egypt Al Ahly 2024 TBD
Champions League 2022–23 (final) Egypt Al Ahly 11th Morocco Wydad AC 2023–24 (final) Qualification:
10 September – 24 October 2021

Competition proper:
11 February – 29 May 2022
Confederation Cup 2022–23 (final) Algeria USM Alger 1st Tanzania Young Africans 2023–24 (final) Qualification:
20 August 2023 – 27 August 2023

Competition proper:
May 2024
African Football League 2023 (final) South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 1st Morocco Wydad AC 2024–25 (final) TBD
Club teams (Women)
Women's Champions League 2023 (final) South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2nd Morocco SC Casablanca 2024 (final) To be determined (TBD)

Competition winners[edit]

Nation Men Women Total
Africa Cup of Nations CHAN U-23's U-20's U-17's Futsal Beach Soccer African Games Women's Africa Cup of Nations African Games
NigeriaNigeria 3(4) 0(1) 1 7(2) 2(2) 2(4) 1(4) 11 3 30(17)
EgyptEgypt 7(3) 1 4(1) 1 3(2) - 2 - - 18(6)
CameroonCameroon 5(2) - - 1(4) 2 - 1(1) 4 0(4) 1(2) 14(13)
GhanaGhana 4(5) 0(2) - 4(2) 2(2) 0(1) - 1 1(1) 0(3) 12(16)
SenegalSenegal 1(2) 1 - 1(3) 1 - 7(2) 1 - - 12(7)
MoroccoMorocco 1(1) 2 1(1) 1 0(1) 2(1) - - 0(1) - 7(5)
AlgeriaAlgeria 2(1) 0(1) 0(1) 1 0(1) - - 1 - - 4(4)
Democratic Republic of the CongoDR Congo 2 2 - - - - - - - - 4

Sponsorship[edit]

In October 2004, South African telecommunications giant, MTN, contracted a 4-year deal to sponsor CAF competitions worth US$12.5 million, which was the biggest sponsorship deal in African sporting history at that time.[15]

CAF opened new sponsorship callouts when MTN's contract expired and French telecommunications giant Orange scooped it up in July 2009, signing an 8-year comprehensive long-term undisclosed deal to sponsor CAF competitions with a value of €100 million.[16]

On 21 July 2016, French energy and petroleum giant, Total S.A., replaced Orange as the main sponsor with an 8-year sponsorship package from CAF for a value of €950 million[17] to support its competitions.[18] Total rebranded as TotalEnergies on 28 May 2021.[19]

The current main CAF sponsors are:

FIFA World Rankings[edit]

Overview[edit]

Historical leaders[edit]

Team of the Year[edit]

Teams ranking in the top four – Men's[20]
Year First Second Third Fourth
1993  Nigeria  Cameroon  Egypt  Zambia
1994  Nigeria  Zambia  Egypt  Ivory Coast
1995  Ivory Coast  Tunisia  Egypt  Zambia
1996  South Africa  Zambia  Tunisia  Ghana
1997  Morocco  Zambia  Tunisia  South Africa
1998  Morocco  Tunisia  South Africa  Egypt
1999  Morocco  South Africa  Tunisia  Zambia
2000  South Africa  Tunisia  Morocco  Egypt
2001  Tunisia  South Africa  Morocco  Cameroon
2002  Cameroon  Senegal  Nigeria  South Africa
2003  Cameroon  Egypt  Senegal  Nigeria
2004  Nigeria  Cameroon  Senegal  Morocco
2005  Cameroon  Nigeria  Tunisia  Senegal
2006  Nigeria  Cameroon  Ivory Coast  Guinea
2007  Nigeria  Cameroon  Guinea  Ivory Coast
2008  Cameroon  Egypt  Nigeria  Ghana
2009  Cameroon  Ivory Coast  Nigeria  Egypt
2010  Egypt  Ghana  Ivory Coast  Nigeria
2011  Ivory Coast  Ghana  Algeria  Egypt
2012  Ivory Coast  Algeria  Mali  Ghana
2013  Ivory Coast  Ghana  Algeria  Nigeria
2014  Algeria  Tunisia  Ivory Coast  Senegal
2015  Ivory Coast  Algeria  Ghana  Cape Verde
2016  Senegal  Ivory Coast  Tunisia  Egypt
2017  Senegal  Tunisia  Egypt  DR Congo
2018  Senegal  Tunisia  Morocco  Nigeria
2019  Senegal  Tunisia  Nigeria  Algeria
2020  Senegal  Tunisia  Algeria  Morocco
2021  Senegal  Morocco  Tunisia  Algeria
2022  Morocco  Senegal  Tunisia  Cameroon
Teams ranking in the top four – Women's[21]
Year First Second Third Fourth
2003  Nigeria  Ghana  Morocco  South Africa
2004  Nigeria  Ghana  Morocco  South Africa
2005  Nigeria  Ghana  Egypt  South Africa
2006  Nigeria  Ghana  Morocco  South Africa
2007  Nigeria  Ghana  Eritrea  Algeria
2008  Nigeria  Ghana  South Africa  Morocco
2009  Nigeria  Ghana  South Africa  Algeria
2010  Nigeria  Ghana  South Africa  Equatorial Guinea
2011  Nigeria  Ghana  Equatorial Guinea  Cameroon
2012  Nigeria  Cameroon  Ghana  Equatorial Guinea
2013  Nigeria  Cameroon  Ghana  South Africa
2014  Nigeria  Ghana  Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea
2015  Nigeria  Cameroon  Ghana  Equatorial Guinea
2016  Nigeria  Ghana  Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea
2017  Nigeria  Ghana  Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea
2018  Nigeria  Cameroon  South Africa  Ghana
2019  Nigeria  Cameroon  South Africa  Ghana
2020  Nigeria  Cameroon  South Africa  Ghana
2021  Nigeria  Cameroon  South Africa  Ghana
2022  Nigeria  Cameroon  South Africa  Ghana

Other rankings[edit]

CAF overall ranking of African clubs by titles[edit]

The following clubs are the top 10 clubs in CAF competitions.

Pos Club Titles Trophies won
1 Egypt Al Ahly SC 25 11 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 CAF Confederation Cup, 4 African Cup Winners' Cup, 8 CAF Super Cup, 1 Afro-Asian Club Championship
2 Egypt Zamalek SC 13 5 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 CAF Confederation Cup, 1 African Cup Winners' Cup, 4 CAF Super Cup, 2 Afro-Asian Club Championship
3 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 11 5 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 2 CAF Confederation Cup, 1 African Cup Winners' Cup, 3 CAF Super Cup
4 Morocco Raja CA 9 3 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 2 CAF Confederation Cup, 1 CAF Cup, 2 CAF Super Cup, 1 Afro-Asian Club Championship
Tunisia Étoile Sportive du Sahel 9 1 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 2 African Cup Winners' Cup, 2 CAF Confederation Cup, 2 CAF Cup, 2 CAF Super Cup
6 Tunisia Espérance Sportive de Tunis 8 4 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 African Cup Winners' Cup, 1 CAF Cup, 1 CAF Super Cup, 1 Afro-Asian Club Championship
7 Algeria JS Kabylie 6 2 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 African Cup Winners' Cup, 3 CAF Cup
Morocco Wydad AC 6 3 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup, 1 CAF Super Cup, 1 Afro-Asian Club Championship
9 Algeria ES Sétif 4 2 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 CAF Super Cup, 1 Afro-Asian Club Championship
Cameroon Canon Yaoundé 4 3 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 1 African Cup Winners' Cup
Nigeria Enyimba F.C. 4 2 African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League, 2 CAF Super Cup
Tunisia CS Sfaxien 4 3 CAF Confederation Cup, 1 CAF Cup
Update as of 3 August 2022 in chronological order.

By country[edit]

The following table lists all the countries whose clubs have won at least one CAF competition. Egyptian clubs are the most successful, with a total of 41 titles. Egyptian clubs hold a record number of wins in the African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League (16), the now-defunct African Cup Winners' Cup (8), the CAF Super Cup (12) and the now-defunct Afro-Asian Club Championship (3), followed by Tunisian clubs with 24 titles and they have the most victories in the now-defunct CAF Cup (4). In third place overall, Moroccan clubs have secured 23 titles and they have the most victories in the CAF Confederation Cup (7).

Key
CL African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League
CWC African Cup Winners' Cup
C CAF Cup
CC CAF Confederation Cup
SC CAF Super Cup
AAC Afro-Asian Club Championship
List of CAF club competition winners by country
Nationality CL CWC C CC SC AAC Total
 Egypt 17 8 0 2 12 3 42
 Morocco 7 1 2 7 5 2 24
 Tunisia 6 4 4 5 3 2 24
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 6 2 0 2 3 0 13
 Algeria 5 1 3 1 2 1 13
 Nigeria 2 3 2 0 2 0 9
 Cameroon 5 3 0 0 0 0 8
 Ivory Coast 2 2 1 0 2 0 7
 Ghana 3 0 0 1 1 0 5
 South Africa 2 1 0 0 2 0 5
 Guinea 3 1 0 0 0 0 4
 Republic of the Congo 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
 Kenya 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
 Sudan 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
 Zambia 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
 Mali 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

CAF overall ranking of African clubs[edit]

Rankings are calculated by the CAF based on points gathered by African teams throughout their participation in international club tournaments organized by either CAF themselves or FIFA since the establishment of the first African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1964.[22]

Men's Futsal[edit]

Per 22 June 2023:[23]

CAF FIFA Country Points Rank dec 22
1 8  Morocco 1502 1
2 37  Egypt 1112 2
3 42  Libya 1080 3
4 47  Angola 1031 4
5 74  Mozambique 876 5
6 85  South Africa 830 6
7 92  Zimbabwe 803 7
8 93  Tunisia 800 8
9 96  Algeria 790 11
10 98  Zambia 774 9
11 105  Cameroon 729 10
12 114  Mauritania 661
13 126  Somalia 547 12
14 127  Comoros 544
 Ghana* 852
 Ivory Coast* 785
 Nigeria* 785
 Sudan* 684
 Guinea* 730
 Guinea-Bissau* 708
 Madagascar* 685
 Sudan* 684
 DR Congo* 659
 Equatorial Guinea* 637
 Réunion* 626
 São Tomé and Príncipe* 583

(*)= Provisional ranking (played at least 10 matches) (**)= Inactive for more than 24 months

Women's Futsal[edit]

CAF FIFA Country Points +/-

Beach soccer national teams[edit]

Rankings are calculated by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW). Top ten, last updated 12 March 2018 Archived 23 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine

CAF BSWW Country Points
1 12  Senegal 1084
2 17  Egypt 782
3 20  Nigeria 720
4 24  Morocco 609
5 34  Madagascar 339
6 41  Ivory Coast 330
7 57  Ghana 177
8 66  Libya 125
9 68  Mozambique 117
10 69  Cape Verde 115

Major tournament records[edit]

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarter-finals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–2022: knockout round of 8)
  • R2 — Round 2 (1974–1978, second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–2022: knockout round of 16)
  • R1 — Round 1 (1930, 1950–1970 and 1986–present: group stage; 1934–1938: knockout round of 16; 1974–1982: first group stage)
  • Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
  •  ••  – Qualified but withdrew
  •  •  – Did not qualify
  •  ×  – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
  •    – Hosts
  •     – Not affiliated in FIFA

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

FIFA World Cup[edit]

FIFA World Cup record
Team 1930
Uruguay
(13)
1934
Italy
(16)
1938
France
(15)
1950
Brazil
(13)
1954
Switzerland
(16)
1958
Sweden
(16)
1962
Chile
(16)
1966
England
(16)
1970
Mexico
(16)
1974
West Germany
(16)
1978
Argentina
(16)
1982
Spain
(24)
1986
Mexico
(24)
1990
Italy
(24)
1994
United States
(24)
1998
France
(32)
2002
Japan
South Korea
(32)
2006
Germany
(32)
2010
South Africa
(32)
2014
Brazil
(32)
2018
Russia
(32)
2022
Qatar
(32)
2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48)
2030
Morocco
Portugal
Spain
(48)
2034
Saudi Arabia
(48)
Apps.
 Algeria Part of France[g] × R1
13th
R1
22nd
R1
28th
R2
14th
4/14
 Angola Part of Portugal[h] × R1
23rd
1/9
 Cameroon Part of France × × R1
17th
QF
7th
R1
22nd
R1
25th
R1
20th
R1
31st
R1
32nd
R1
19th
8/14
 DR Congo[i] Part of Belgium[j] × × R1
16th
× 1/12
 Egypt × R1
13th
× × × × × × R1
20th
R1
31st
3/15
 Ghana Part of the United Kingdom × × × R2
13th
QF
7th
R1
25th
R1
24th
4/14
 Ivory Coast Part of France × × × × R1
19th
R1
17th
R1
21st
3/11
 Morocco Part of France/Spain × R1
14th
R2
11th
R1
23rd
R1
18th
R1
27th
4th Q 6/15
 Nigeria Part of the United Kingdom × R2
9th
R2
12th
R1
27th
R1
27th
R2
16th
R1
21st
6/15
 Senegal Part of France × × × QF
7th
R1
17th
R2
10th
3/12
 South Africa × × × × × × × × × × R1
24th
R1
17th
R1
20th
3/8
 Togo Part of France × × × × × R1
30th
1/11
 Tunisia Part of France × R1
9th
R1
26th
R1
29th
R1
24th
R1
24th
R1
21st
6/15
Total (13 teams) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 5 5 5 6 5 5 5 9/10 TBD TBD 49
Firsts
  • 1934:  Egypt first African team to qualify for the World Cup
  • 1970:  Morocco first African team to draw a match in the World Cup
  • 1978:  Tunisia first African team to win a match in the World Cup
  • 1982:  Algeria first African team to win two matches in the World Cup
  • 1986:  Algeria first African team to qualify for two consecutive World Cups
  • 1986:  Morocco first African team to reach the knockout stage (round of sixteen)
  • 1990:  Cameroon first African team to reach the knockout stage (quarter-finals)
  • 1994 and 1998:  Nigeria first African team to top a group stage and reach the knockout stage (round of 16) in two consecutive World Cups
  • 2002:  Senegal first African team to reach the knockout stage (quarter-finals) further on World Cup debut
  • 2010:  South Africa first African team to host the World Cup
  • 2014:  Algeria &  Nigeria first African teams to reach the knockout stage (round of sixteen) simultaneously in the World Cup
  • 2022:  Morocco first African team to reach the knockout stage (semi-finals), taking the fourth place

FIFA Women's World Cup[edit]

Teams are sorted by number of appearances.

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Team 1991
China
(12)
1995
Sweden
(12)
1999
United States
(16)
2003
United States
(16)
2007
China
(16)
2011
Germany
(16)
2015
Canada
(24)
2019
France
(24)
2023
Australia
New Zealand
(32)
2027

(32)
Apps.
 Cameroon × R2
11th
R2
15th
2/8
 Equatorial Guinea × × × R1
15th
× 1/5
 Ghana R1
T-13th
R1
12th
R1
15th
3/9
 Ivory Coast × × × R1
23rd
1/6
 Morocco R2
12th
1/9
 Nigeria R1
10th
R1
11th
QF
7th
R1
15th
R1
13th
R1
9th
R1
21st
R2
16th
R2
10th
9/9
 South Africa × R1
22nd
R2
16th
2/8
 Zambia R1
25th
1/9
Total (8 teams) 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 16

Men's Olympic Games[edit]

Olympic Games (Men's tournament) record
Team 1900
France
(3)
1904
United States
(3)
1908
United Kingdom
(6)
1912
Sweden
(11)
1920
Belgium
(14)
1924
France
(22)
1928
Netherlands
(17)
1936
Germany
(16)
1948
United Kingdom
(18)
1952
Finland
(25)
1956
Australia
(11)
1960
Italy
(16)
1964
Japan
(14)
1968
Mexico
(16)
1972
West Germany
(16)
1976
Canada
(13)
1980
Soviet Union
(16)
1984
United States
(16)
1988
South Korea
(16)
1992
Spain
(16)
1996
United States
(16)
2000
Australia
(16)
2004
Greece
(16)
2008
China
(16)
2012
United Kingdom
(16)
2016
Brazil
(16)
2020
Japan
(16)
2024
France
(16)
Apps.
 Algeria Part of France 8 14 2
 Cameroon Part of France 11 1 8 3
 Egypt[k] 8 8 4 9 11 9 12 4 8 12 8 QF
(8)
Q 13
 Ivory Coast Part of France 6 QF
(7)
2
 Gabon Part of France 12 1
 Ghana Part of the United Kingdom 7 12 16 3 8 9 6
 Guinea Part of France 11 1
 Mali Part of France 5 Q 2
 Morocco Part of France/Spain 13 8 12 15 16 =10 11 Q 8
 Nigeria Part of the United Kingdom 14 13 15 1 8 2 3 7
 Senegal Part of France 6 1
 South Africa Banned because of apartheid 11 13 GS
(16)
3
 Sudan Part of the United Kingdom 15 1
 Tunisia Part of France 15 13 14 12 4
 Zambia Part of the United Kingdom RHO 15 5 2
Total (15 teams) 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 or 4

Women's Olympic Games[edit]

Olympic Games (Women's tournament) record
Team 1996
United States
(8)
2000
Australia
(8)
2004
Greece
(10)
2008
China
(12)
2012
United Kingdom
(12)
2016
Brazil
(12)
2020
Japan
(12)
2024
France
(12)
Apps.
 Cameroon 12 1
 Nigeria 8 6 11 3
 South Africa 10 10 2
 Zambia GS
(9)
1
 Zimbabwe 12 1
Total (5 teams) 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 10

Africa Cup of Nations[edit]

Africa Cup of Nations record
Team
(Total 44 teams)
1957
Sudan
(3)
1959
United Arab Republic
(3)
1962
Ethiopia
(4)
1963
Ghana
(6)
1965
Tunisia
(6)
1968
Ethiopia
(8)
1970
Sudan
(8)
1972
Cameroon
(8)
1974
Egypt
(8)
1976
Ethiopia
(8)
1978
Ghana
(8)
1980
Nigeria
(8)
1982
Libya
(8)
1984
Ivory Coast
(8)
1986
Egypt
(8)
1988
Morocco
(8)
1990
Algeria
(8)
1992
Senegal
(12)
1994
Tunisia
(12)
1996
South Africa
(15)
1998
Burkina Faso
(16)
2000
Ghana
Nigeria
(16)
2002
Mali
(16)
2004
Tunisia
(16)
2006
Egypt
(16)
2008
Ghana
(16)
2010
Angola
(15)
2012
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
(16)
2013
South Africa
(16)
2015
Equatorial Guinea
(16)
2017
Gabon
(16)
2019
Egypt
(24)
2021
Cameroon
(24)
2023
Ivory Coast
(24)
2025
Morocco
(24)
2027
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
(24)
Apps.
North Africa Members
 Algeria Part of France × R1 2nd 4th 3rd R1 3rd 1st R1 •• QF R1 QF R1 QF 4th R1 QF R1 1st R1 R1 20
 Egypt 1st 1st 2nd 3rd × × 3rd 3rd 4th 4th × 4th 1st R1 R1 R1 QF QF 1st QF QF R1 1st 1st 1st 2nd R2 2nd R2 26
 Libya × × × × × 2nd × × × × × × R1 R1 3
 Morocco × × × R1 × 1st R1 3rd 4th 4th R1 QF R1 R1 2nd R1 R1 R1 R1 •• QF R2 QF R2 Q 20
 Tunisia 3rd R1 2nd × × × 4th × R1 R1 2nd QF 4th R1 1st QF QF R1 QF R1 QF QF 4th QF R1 21
West Africa Members
 Benin Part of France × × × × × × × × R1 R1 R1 QF 4
 Burkina Faso Part of France × × × × R1 × × × × × R1 4th R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 2nd R1 3rd 4th R2 13
 Cape Verde Part of Portugal × QF R1 R2 QF 4
 Gambia Part of the United Kingdom × × × × x × x x x x x QF R1 2
 Ghana UK 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 1st R1 1st R1 2nd QF 4th R1 QF QF R1 3rd 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 4th R2 R1 R1 24
 Guinea FRA •• R1 R1 2nd R1 R1 R1 × QF QF QF R1 QF R2 R2 QF 14
 Guinea-Bissau Part of Portugal × × × × × × × × × R1 R1 R1 R1 4
 Ivory Coast Part of France 3rd 3rd 4th R1 •• R1 × R1 3rd R1 R1 1st 3rd R1 QF R1 R1 2nd 4th QF 2nd QF 1st R1 QF R2 1st 25
 Liberia × × × × × × × × × R1 R1 2
 Mali Part of France 2nd 4th 4th 4th R1 R1 3rd 3rd R1 R1 R2 R2 QF 13
 Mauritania Part of France × × × × × × × × × R1 R1 R2 3
 Niger Part of France × × × × × × × × × × R1 R1 2
 Nigeria × R1 × × 3rd 3rd 1st R1 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st × × 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd QF 3rd 1st 3rd R2 2nd 20
 Senegal Part of France 4th R1 × R1 4th QF QF QF 2nd QF 4th R1 R1 R1 QF 2nd 1st R2 17
 Sierra Leone Part of the UK × × × × × × × R1 R1 × × x R1 3
 Togo Part of France × R1 × R1 × × R1 R1 R1 R1 •• QF R1 8
Central Africa Members
 Cameroon Part of France × R1 3rd R1 1st 2nd 1st R1 4th R1 QF 1st 1st QF QF 2nd QF R1 1st R2 3rd R2 21
 Congo Part of France R1 × 1st 4th R1 × QF R1 QF 7
 DR Congo Part of Belgium R1 1st R1 4th 1st R1 × × R1 QF QF QF 3rd R1 QF R1 QF R1 3rd QF R2 4th 20
 Equatorial Guinea Part of Spain × × × × × × QF 4th QF R2 4
 Gabon Part of France × × × × × R1 QF R1 R1 QF R1 R1 R2 8
East Africa Members
 Burundi Part of Belgium × × × × × × × × × × × R1 1
 Ethiopia 2nd 3rd 1st 4th R1 4th R1 R1 R1 × × × × × R1 R1 11
 Kenya R1 × R1 R1 R1 × R1 R1 × Q 7
 Rwanda Part of Belgium × × × × × × × × × R1 × 1
 Sudan 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st R1 R1 × × × × × R1 QF R1 9
 Tanzania × R1 × × × × R1 R1 Q 4
 Uganda 4th × R1 R1 R1 2nd × × × R1 R2 Q 8
Southern Africa Members
 Angola Part of Portugal × R1 R1 R1 QF QF R1 R1 R1 QF 9
 Botswana Part of the United Kingdom × × × × × × × × R1 1
 Comoros Part of France × × × R2 1
 Madagascar Part of France × × × × × × × × × QF 1
 Malawi Part of the United Kingdom × R1 R1 R2 3
 Mauritius R1 × × 1
 Mozambique Part of Portugal × R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 5
 Namibia Part of South Africa × × R1 R1 R1 R2 4
 South Africa •• Banned because of apartheid 1st 2nd 3rd QF R1 R1 R1 QF R1 QF 3rd 11
 Zambia × × 2nd R1 3rd R1 × 3rd QF 2nd 3rd R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 QF 1st R1 R1 R1 18
 Zimbabwe R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 × 5

Women's Africa Cup of Nations[edit]

Women's Africa Cup of Nations record
Team
(Total 26 teams)
1991

(4)
1995

(6)
1998
Nigeria
(7)
2000
South Africa
(8)
2002
Nigeria
(8)
2004
South Africa
(8)
2006
Nigeria
(8)
2008
Equatorial Guinea
(8)
2010
South Africa
(8)
2012
Equatorial Guinea
(8)
2014
Namibia
(8)
2016
Cameroon
(8)
2018
Ghana
(8)
2020
[l]
(12)
2022
Morocco
(12)
2024
Morocco
(12)
Apps.
 Algeria R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 Q 6
 Angola SF R1 2
 Botswana × QF Q 2
 Burkina Faso × GS 1
 Burundi × GS 1
 Cameroon 2nd × 4th R1 3rd 2nd 4th 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd QF 13
 Congo × R1 1
 DR Congo 3rd × × R1 R1 × x Q 4
 Egypt R1 × × R1 2
 Equatorial Guinea R1 1st 2nd 1st R1 5
 Ethiopia R1 4th × R1 3
 Ghana QF SF 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd R1 R1 R1 3rd R1 Q 13
 Guinea SF × 1
 Ivory Coast R1 3rd 2
 Kenya x x x x R1 x 1
 Mali R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 4th Q 8
 Morocco R1 R1 2nd Q 4
 Namibia × R1 1
 Nigeria 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st 4th 1st 1st 1st 4th Q 15
 Réunion R1 1
 Senegal × R1 QF Q 3
 Sierra Leone QF × × × × × 1
 South Africa 2nd R1 2nd 4th R1 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 1st Q 14
 Tanzania R1 Q 2
 Tunisia R1 QF Q 3
 Uganda R1 × × GS 2
 Zambia × QF R1 R1 3rd Q 5
 Zimbabwe × 4th R1 R1 × R1 × 4

FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
Team 1977
Tunisia
(16)
1979
Japan
(16)
1981
Australia
(16)
1983
Mexico
(16)
1985
Soviet Union
(16)
1987
Chile
(16)
1989
Saudi Arabia
(16)
1991
Portugal
(16)
1993
Australia
(16)
1995
Qatar
(16)
1997
Malaysia
(24)
1999
Nigeria
(24)
2001
Argentina
(24)
2003
United Arab Emirates
(24)
2005
Netherlands
(24)
2007
Canada
(24)
2009
Egypt
(24)
2011
Colombia
(24)
2013
Turkey
(24)
2015
New Zealand
(24)
2017
South Korea
(24)
2019
Poland
(24)
2023
Argentina
(24)
2025
Chile
(24)
Apps.
 Algeria × QF × × × 1
 Angola × × × × × × R2 1
 Benin × × × × × × × × × × × × R1 × × 1
 Burkina Faso × × × × × × × × × × R2 1
 Burundi × × × × × × × × × R1 × × × × 1
 Cameroon × R1 R1 QF R2 R1 R2 6
 Congo × × × × × × × × × × × × × R2 1
 Egypt QF R1 3rd R2 R1 R2 R2 R1 8
 Ethiopia × × × R1 × × × × 1
 Gambia × × × × × × × × × × R2 R2 2
 Ghana × × × × 2nd 4th QF 2nd 1st 3rd R2 7
 Guinea R1 × × R1 2
 Ivory Coast R1 × × R1 R1 × R1 R2 5
 Mali × × × × × × R1 3rd R1 R1 R1 3rd QF 7
 Morocco R1 R2 4th 3
 Nigeria × R1 3rd R1 2nd QF 2nd QF R2 QF R2 R2 R2 QF 13
 Senegal × × × × × 4th R2 QF R1 4
 South Africa × × × × × × × × × R1 R2 R1 R1 4
 Togo × × × R1 × × × × × × × × 1
 Tunisia R1 R1 R2 3
 Zambia × × × × × × R1 R2 QF 3
Total (21 teams) 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 26

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup[edit]

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record
Team 2002
Canada
(12)
2004
Thailand
(12)
2006
Russia
(16)
2008
Chile
(16)
2010
Germany
(16)
2012
Japan
(16)
2014
Canada
(16)
2016
Papua New Guinea
(16)
2018
France
(16)
2022
Costa Rica
(16)[m]
2024
Colombia
(24)
2026
Poland
(24)
Apps.
 Cameroon × × × × Q 1
 DR Congo × R1 R1 × × 2
 Ghana × × R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 Q 7
 Morocco × × × Q 1
 Nigeria R1 QF QF QF 2nd 4th 2nd R1 QF QF Q 11
Total (5 teams) 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 22

FIFA U-17 World Cup[edit]

FIFA U-17 World Cup record
Team 1985
China
(16)
1987
Canada
(16)
1989
Scotland
(16)
1991
Italy
(16)
1993
Japan
(16)
1995
Ecuador
(16)
1997
Egypt
(16)
1999
New Zealand
(16)
2001
Trinidad and Tobago
(16)
2003
Finland
(16)
2005
Peru
(16)
2007
South Korea
(24)
2009
Nigeria
(24)
2011
Mexico
(24)
2013
United Arab Emirates
(24)
2015
Chile
(24)
2017
India
(24)
2019
Brazil
(24)
2023
Indonesia
(24)[n]
2025

(24)
Apps.
 Algeria R1 1
 Angola × × × × × R2 × 1
 Burkina Faso R1 3rd R2 R1 R1 5
 Cameroon R1 R1 2
 Congo R1 R1 R2 3
 Gambia R1 R1 × 2
 Ghana R1 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd R1 4th QF 9
 Guinea 4th R1 R1 R1 R1 × × 6
 Ivory Coast 3rd R1 R2 QF 4
 Malawi R1 1
 Mali QF R1 QF 2nd 4th 3rd 6
 Morocco R2 QF 2
 Niger R2 1
 Nigeria 1st 2nd QF 1st QF 2nd R1 1st 2nd 1st 1st R2 12
 Rwanda R1 × 1
 Senegal R2 R2 2
 Sierra Leone R1 1
 South Africa R1 1
 South Sudan × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × 0
 Sudan R1 × 1
 Togo R1 1
 Tunisia R1 R2 R2 3
Total (21 teams) 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
  • Note 1: Original hosts Peru were stripped of the rights to host the 2019 edition in February that year.[24]

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup[edit]

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup record
Team 2008
New Zealand
(16)
2010
Trinidad and Tobago
(16)
2012
Azerbaijan
(16)
2014
Costa Rica
(16)
2016
Jordan
(16)
2018
Uruguay
(16)
2022
India
(16)[o]
2024
Dominican Republic
(16)
2025
Morocco
(24)
Apps.
 Cameroon × × R1 R1 2
 Gambia × × R1 × × × × 1
 Ghana R1 R1 3rd QF QF QF × 6
 Nigeria R1 QF QF QF R1 3rd 6
 South Africa R1 R1 2
 Morocco × × × × R1 Q 1
 Tanzania × × × × × × QF 1
 Zambia × R1 × 1
Total (8 teams) 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 20

FIFA Futsal World Cup[edit]

FIFA Futsal World Cup record
Team 1989
Netherlands
(16)
1992
Hong Kong
(16)
1996
Spain
(16)
2000
Guatemala
(16)
2004
Taiwan
(16)
2008
Brazil
(20)
2012
Thailand
(24)
2016
Colombia
(24)
2021
Lithuania
(24)
2024
Uzbekistan
(24)
Apps.
 Algeria R1 × × × × × × × 1
 Angola × × × × × × GS 1
 Egypt × × R1 R2 R1 R1 R2 QF GS 7
 Libya × × × × R1 R1 2
 Morocco × × × R1 R1 QF 3
 Mozambique × × × × R1 1
 Nigeria × R1 × × × × × 1
 Zimbabwe R1 × × × × × × × 1
Total (8 teams) 2 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 17

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup[edit]

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup record
Team 1995
Brazil
(8)
1996
Brazil
(8)
1997
Brazil
(8)
1998
Brazil
(10)
1999
Brazil
(12)
2000
Brazil
(12)
2001
Brazil
(12)
2002
Brazil
(8)
2003
Brazil
(8)
2004
Brazil
(12)
2005
Brazil
(12)
2006
Brazil
(12)
2007
Brazil
(16)
2008
France
(16)
2009
United Arab Emirates
(16)
2011
Italy
(16)
2013
French Polynesia
(16)
2015
Portugal
(16)
2017
The Bahamas
(16)
2019
Paraguay
(16)
2021
Russia
(16)
2024
United Arab Emirates
(16)
2025
Seychelles
(16)
Apps.
 Cameroon × R1
14th
R1
16th
× × × × × 2/22
 Egypt × R1
12th
1/22
 Ivory Coast × R1
11th
R1
16th
2/22
 Madagascar × × × × × R1
14th
1/22
 Mozambique × × × × R1
11th
1/22
 Nigeria × R1
9th
QF
6th
R1
12th
QF
6th
R1
12th
R1
16th
× 6/22
 Senegal × × QF
5th
R1
9th
QF
7th
R1
13th
R1
13th
QF
6th
QF
6th
4th R1
10th
9/22
 Seychelles × × × × × × × × × Q 1/22
 South Africa R1
12th
R1
12th
× × × × 1/22
Total (9 teams) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3

Former tournaments[edit]

FIFA Confederations Cup[edit]

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Team 1992
Saudi Arabia
(4)
1995
Saudi Arabia
(6)
1997
Saudi Arabia
(8)
1999
Mexico
(8)
2001
South Korea
Japan
(8)
2003
France
(8)
2005
Germany
(8)
2009
South Africa
(8)
2013
Brazil
(8)
2017
Russia
(8)
Apps.
 Cameroon R1 2nd R1 3
 Egypt R1 R1 2
 Ivory Coast 4th 1
 Nigeria 4th × × R1 2
 South Africa × R1 4th 2
 Tunisia R1 1
Total (6 teams) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 11

CAF Best Footballers of the Century[edit]

The voting to select the best of the century refers to three categories: male player, goalkeeper and female player and is obtained from five different steps. The resulting best players and goalkeepers were honored during the "World Football Gala 1999".[25]

CAF Golden Jubilee Best Players poll[edit]

In 2007, CAF published the list of top 30 African players who played in the period from 1957 to 2007, as part of the celebration of the golden jubilee or 50th anniversary of the foundation of CAF, ordered according to an online poll.[26]

CAF resolutions[edit]

International top goalscorers[edit]

As of 29 January 2024

This table is for players with 30 or more goals for a CAF national team. Players in bold are still active at international level.

Indicates the CAF top scorer.
Indicates the top scorer of the respective nation.
Rank Player Nation Goals Matches Goals per match Career span
1 Godfrey Chitalu  Zambia 79 111 0.71 1968–1980
2 Kinnah Phiri  Malawi 71 117 0.61 1973–1981
3 Hossam Hassan  Egypt 68 176 0.39 1985–2006
4 Didier Drogba  Ivory Coast 65 105 0.62 2002–2014
5 Mohamed Salah  Egypt 56 98 0.57 2011–present
6 Samuel Eto'o  Cameroon 56 118 0.47 1997–2014
7 Asamoah Gyan  Ghana 51 109 0.47 2003–2021
8 Abdoulaye Traoré  Ivory Coast 49 88 0.56 1984–1996
9 Islam Slimani  Algeria 45 101 0.45 2012–present
10 Ali Al-Biski  Libya 44 35 1.26 1961–1970
11 Roger Milla  Cameroon 43 77 0.56 1973–1994
12 Alex Chola  Zambia 43 102 0.42 1975–1985
13 Hassan El-Shazly  Egypt 42 62 0.68 1961–1975
14 Sadio Mané  Senegal 41 105 0.39 2012–present
15 Fawzi Al-Issawi  Libya 40 90 0.44 1977–1985
16 Akwá  Angola 39 78 0.5 1995–2006
17 Kalusha Bwalya  Zambia 39 87 0.45 1983–2006
18 Mohamed Aboutrika  Egypt 38 100 0.38 2001–2013
19 Rashidi Yekini  Nigeria 37 62 0.6 1984–1998
20 Peter Ndlovu  Zimbabwe 37 81 0.46 1991–2007
21 Vincent Aboubakar  Cameroon 37 100 0.37 2010–present
22 Abdelhafid Tasfaout  Algeria 36 80 0.45 1990–2002
23 Issam Jemâa  Tunisia 36 84 0.43 2005–2014
24 Ahmed Faras  Morocco 36 94 0.38 1966–1979
25 William Ouma  Kenya 35 66 0.53 1965–1977
26 Moumouni Dagano  Burkina Faso 34 83 0.41 1998–2014
27 Dennis Oliech  Kenya 34 76 0.45 2002–2016
28 Patrick M'Boma  Cameroon 33 55 0.6 1995–2004
29 Ibrahima Kandia Diallo  Guinea 33 56 0.59 1960–1973
30 Getaneh Kebede  Ethiopia 33 66 0.5 2010–present
31 Abedi Pele  Ghana 33 67 0.49 1982–1998
32 Ahmed Hassan  Egypt 33 184 0.18 1995–2004
33 Emmanuel Adebayor  Togo 32 87 0.37 2000–2019
34 Benni McCarthy  South Africa 31 79 0.39 1997–2011
35 Riyad Mahrez  Algeria 31 93 0.33 2014–present
36 Amr Zaki  Egypt 30 63 0.48 2004–2013
37 Baghdad Bounedjah  Algeria 30 67 0.45 2013–present
38 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  Gabon 30 75 0.4 2009–present
39 Tico-Tico  Mozambique 30 94 0.32 1995–2010

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ French: Confédération Africaine de Football, Arabic: الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, romanizedal-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam
  2. ^ Member of UNAF. Withdrew on 19 November 2009 and rejoined in 2011.
  3. ^ a b Associate member, not part of FIFA. Zanzibar held full membership for four months in 2017, when its status was changed after CAF admitted its membership was an error.[11]
  4. ^ Excluded from CAF and from the 1957 African Cup of Nations due to apartheid.
  5. ^ This tournament was initially formed as a home-and-away qualification tournament for U-21 African nations in 1977. Since 1979, a proper tournament was launched as the African Youth Championship and used these branded titles until 2015: African U-21 Cup of Nations until 1989, African U-21 Championship until 2003 and African U-20 Championship until 2015. The current name was adopted in 2017.
  6. ^ From 1995 to 2015, the tournament was known as the African U-17 Championship. The current name was adopted in 2017.
  7. ^ Algeria gained independence in 1962, but they joined with other African nations to boycott the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Thus the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification was their first participation.
  8. ^ Angola gained independence in 1975. Thus the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification was their first participation.
  9. ^ The Democratic Republic of the Congo competed as Zaire in 1974.
  10. ^ Democratic Republic of the Congo gained independence in 1960, but they joined with other African nations to boycott the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Thus the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification was their first participation.
  11. ^ Egypt team represented the United Arab Republic with Syria in 1960 finishing the 12th and alone in 1964 finishing the 4th.
  12. ^ The 2020 Women's Africa Cup of Nations was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.
  13. ^ Costa Rica and Panama were originally due to host the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, but the latter withdrew citing the COVID-19 pandemic and left Costa Rica as the sole hosts. FIFA postponed the 2020 edition to the following year, i.e. 2021, pending improvement in pandemic management, but cancelled it altogether on 17 November 2020 due to the escalation of the pandemic caused by the discovery of the COVID-19 Omicron variant a month earlier and automatically awarded them the 2022 edition.
  14. ^ Peru was originally due to host the 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup but FIFA cancelled it on 24 December 2020 citing the COVID-19 pandemic and its escalation of the pandemic caused by the discovery of the COVID-19 Omicron variant a month earlier as the reasons and automatically awarded them the 2023 edition. Peru later withrew as hosts on 2 May 2023 due to infrastructural defects and FIFA awarded the hosting eights to Indonesia, whom FIFA earlier stripped the hosting rights for the year's FIFA U-20 World Cup.
  15. ^ India were originally due to host the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, but it was postponed to the following year, i.e. 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic by FIFA, who eventually cancelled it on 17 November 2020 and rather automatically awarded them the 2022 edition.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Member Associations". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ Alegi, Peter (2010). African Soccerscapes. Ohio University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-89680-278-0.
  3. ^ Dunmore, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. p. 21. ISBN 9780810873957.
  4. ^ International Sport Management. Human Kinetics. 2020. ISBN 9781450422413.
  5. ^ "History of CAF". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  6. ^ "CAF president". CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Dr. Patrice Motsepe elected 7th CAF President unopposed in Rabat". CAFOnline.com (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Competition for the CAF's anthem". CAFOnline.com. 18 September 2007. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  9. ^ FIFA
  10. ^ CAF
  11. ^ Gleeson, Mark (21 July 2017). "Zanzibar loses Caf membership in embarrassing U-turn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Confederation Cup". CAFOnline.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  13. ^ "African women's football primed for new chapter". FIFA.com. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  14. ^ "CAF Women's Champions League takes one giant leap towards realization". CAFOnline.com. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  15. ^ "CAF signs sponsorship deal". BBC Sport. 21 October 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Orange signs deal to sponsor African soccer competitions". Reuters. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  17. ^ "CAF reviews prize money, AFCON 2017 winner to pocket $4 million". Africanews. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Total to sponsor CAF competitions for the next eight years". africanews. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  19. ^ "Total is Transforming and Becoming TotalEnergies" (Press release). TotalEnergies. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  20. ^ a b "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  21. ^ a b "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  22. ^ "African Club Ranking: Old-Time records from 1965 to 2007". CAFOnline.com. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  23. ^ "Futsal World Ranking". Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Update on the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019". FIFA.com. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  25. ^ "IFFHS History : Africa – Player of the Century (1900–1999)". IFFHS. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  26. ^ "CAF release 30 best African players in the last 50 years". CAFOnline.com. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2010.

External links[edit]