Confederation of African Football

Confederation of African Football Confédération Africaine de Football الإتــحــاد الأفــريــقــي لــكــرة الـقـدم
Abbreviation	CAF
Formation	1957
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	6th of October City, Egypt
Membership	56 member associations
Official languages	English, French and Arabic
Secretary General	Hicham El Amrani
President	Issa Hayatou
Website	www.cafonline.com

The Confederation of African Football (CAF, pron.: /ˈkæf/; French: Confédération Africaine de Football; Arabic: الإتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم‎) is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.

CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those competitions.

CAF is one of the biggest of six continental confederations of FIFA. Although it is just three years younger than the UEFA, CAF still has a long way to go in order to improve the quality of the national and local competitions. CAF has been given 5 slots out of the 32 available since the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, this increased to 6 in 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, to include the hosts. The number of places returned to 5 for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

CAF was founded on 8 February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan by the Egyptian, Ethiopian, South African and Sudanese FAs, following former discussions between the Egyptian, Somali, South African and Sudanese FAs earlier in 7 June 1956 in Avenida Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal. Its first headquarters was situated in Khartoum Sudan for some months until a fire outbreak in the offices of the Sudanese Football Association when the organization moved near Cairo. Youssef Mohammad was the first General Secretary and Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem the president. The administrative center since 2002 is located in 6th of October City, near Cairo. It was initially made up of 4 national associations. Currently there are 56 associations, 54 full members beside Zanzibar^{[citation needed]} and Réunion Island as associates. (see the bottom of this page or List of CAF national football teams).

The current CAF President is Issa Hayatou.

History

Main article: History of CAF

Competitions

Africa Club Union Cup (ACUC):

Continental

The main competition for men's national teams is the Africa Cup of Nations, started in 1957. In 2009, CAF will be organising another competition for men's national teams, the African Nations Championship composed exclusively of national players playing in the national championship. CAF also runs national competitions at Under-21 and Under-17 levels. For women's national teams, CAF operates the CAF Women's Championship for senior national sides and the CAF Women's Under-20 Championship at under-20 level, since 2008 there is a CAF Women's Under-17 Championship for under-17 sides.

CAF also organizes the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with UEFA for youth teams.

In futsal there is the African Futsal Championship.

In Beach soccer there is the CAF Beach Soccer Championship.

Also, CAF is responsible for organisation of the football events during the Pan African Games.

Club

CAF also runs the two main club competitions in Africa: the CAF Champions League was first held in 1964, and was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs (or just African Cup) until 1997; and the CAF Confederation Cup, for national cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by CAF in 2004 as a successor to the African Cup Winners' Cup (begun in 1975). A third competition, the CAF Cup, started in 1992 and was absorbed into the CAF Confederation Cup in 2004.

The CAF Super Cup, which pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the CAF Confederation Cup (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), came into being in 1992.

2010 Togo Expulsion Controversy

CAF has been the subject of widespread media controversy and criticism following a decision to ban Togo from the next two Africa Cup of Nations matches, after Togo briefly withdrew then tried to rejoin the competition following an armed ambush on their bus which wounded and killed several passengers, including players. Togo appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepping in to mediate. The ban was subsequently lifted with immediate effect on 14 May 2010, after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee.

CAF Members

Confederation of African Football / Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) - 1957

54 Full Members

Algeria - 1964 Botswana - 1976 Cameroon - 1963 Chad - 1964 Congo DR - 1964 Egypt - 1957 Ethiopia - 1957 Ghana - 1958 Kenya - 1968 Libya - 1965 Mali - 1963 Morocco - 1959 Niger - 1964 São Tomé and Príncipe - 1986 Sierra Leone - 1967 South Sudan - 2012 Tanzania - 1964 Uganda - 1960

Angola - 1980 Burkina Faso - 1964 Cape Verde - 2000 Comoros - 2005 Ivory Coast - 1960 Equatorial Guinea - 1986 Gabon - 1967 Guinea - 1963 Lesotho - 1964 Madagascar - 1963 Mauritania - 1968 Mozambique - 1980 Nigeria - 1960 Senegal - 1964 Somalia - 1963 Sudan - 1957 Togo - 1964 Zambia - 1964

Benin - 1969 Burundi - 1972 Central African Republic - 1965 Congo - 1966 Djibouti - 1994 Eritrea - 1998 Gambia - 1966 Guinea-Bissau - 1986 Liberia - 1962 Malawi - 1968 Mauritius - 1963 Namibia - 1992 Rwanda - 1978 Seychelles - 1986 South Africa - 1957 & 1992 Swaziland - 1978 Tunisia - 1960 Zimbabwe - 1980

2 Associate Members

Réunion - 1993

Zanzibar - 2004

Regional Federations

Union of North African Football Federations (UNAF) - 2005 Algeria - 2005 Morocco - 2005 Egypt - 2005 Tunisia - 2005 Libya - 2005 West Africa Football Union (WAFU) - (UFOA in french) - 1975 Benin - 1975 Ivory Coast - 1975 Guinea - 1975 Mali - 1975 Nigeria - 1975 Togo - 1975 Burkina Faso - 1975 Gambia - 1975 Guinea-Bissau - 1975 Mauritania - 1975 Senegal - 1975 Cape Verde - 1975 Ghana - 1975 Liberia - 1975 Niger - 1975 Sierra Leone - 1975 Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) - 1973 Burundi - 1994 Ethiopia - 1973 Somalia - 1973 Uganda - 1973 Djibouti - 1995 Kenya - 1973 Sudan - 1975 Zanzibar - 1973 & 2003 Eritrea - 1994 Rwanda - 1994 Tanzania - 1973 South Sudan - 2012 Central African Football Federations' Union (UNIFFAC) - 1978 Cameroon - 1978 Congo Gabon Central African Republic Congo DR São Tomé and Príncipe Chad Equatorial Guinea Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) - 1997 Angola - 1997 Lesotho - 1997 Mauritius - 2000 Seychelles - 2000 Zambia - 1997 Botswana - 1997 Madagascar - 2000 Mozambique - 1997 South Africa - 1997 Zimbabwe - 1997 Comoros - 2007 Malawi - 1997 Namibia - 1997 Swaziland - 1997 Non-regional Members Réunion ^ - Excluded from CAF and from 1st African Cup of Nations in 1957 due to Apartheid ^ - Member of UNAF from 2005 to 2009 and from 2011 - Withdrew from UNAF on the 19th of November 2009 but return on 2011 ^ - Non-FIFA member associations holding associate membership of CAF

African regional federations:   UNAF (North Africa)   WAFU-UFOA (West Africa)   UNIFFAC (Central Africa)   CECAFA (East Africa)   COSAFA (Southern Africa)   UAFA (Arab World)

CAF Regional Zones

CAF Zone 1 - North Zone

Algeria

Egypt

Libya

Morocco

Tunisia

CAF Zone 2 - Zone West A

Cape Verde Mali

Gambia Mauritania

Guinea Senegal

Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone

Liberia

CAF Zone 3 - Zone West B

Benin Nigeria

Burkina Faso Togo

Ivory Coast

Ghana

Niger

CAF Zone 4 - Central Zone

Cameroon Equatorial Guinea

Central African Republic Gabon

Chad São Tomé and Príncipe

Congo

Congo DR

CAF Zone 5 - Central-East Zone

Burundi Rwanda Uganda

Djibouti Somalia

Eritrea South Sudan

Ethiopia Sudan

Kenya Tanzania

CAF Zone 6 - Southern Zone

Angola Malawi South Africa

Botswana Mauritius Swaziland

Comoros Mozambique Zambia

Lesotho Namibia Zimbabwe

Madagascar Seychelles

Summer Olympics qualifiers

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• • – Group stage
• q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•     — Qualified but withdrew
•     — Banned/Disqualified
•    — Hosts

Men

Nation	1900	1904	1908	1912	1920	1924	1928	1936	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	Total
Egypt					•	QF	4th	•	•	•		•	4th					QF		•					QF	11
Morocco													•		QF			•		•		•	•		•	7
Ghana													QF	•	•					3rd	QF		•			6
Nigeria														•			•		•		1st	QF		2nd		6
Tunisia												•							•		•		•			4
Cameroon																		•				1st		QF		3
Zambia																	•		QF							2
Algeria																	QF									1
Ivory Coast																								QF		1
Gabon																									•	1
Guinea														•												1
Mali																							QF			1
Senegal																									QF	1
South Africa																						•				1
Sudan															•											1
Total	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	2	3	3	3	0	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	3	4	47

Women

Nation	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	Total
Cameroon					•	1
Nigeria		•	QF	•		3
South Africa					•	1
Total	0	1	1	1	2	5

World Cup Participation and Results

Legend

• 1st – Champion
• 2nd – Runner-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• R16 – Round of 16 (since 1986: knockout round of 16)
• GS – Group Stage (1930 and since 1950)
• 1R – First Round (1934 and 1938)
•  •  — Did not qualify
•     — Did not enter
•     — Withdrew
•     — Banned
•     — Hosts

Men's World Cup Finals

See also: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

The following CAF members have competed in the following FIFA World Cups. Teams are sorted by number of appearances.

Team	1930	1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	Total	inclusive WC Qual.
Cameroon												GS	•	QF	GS	GS	GS	•	GS		6	8
Morocco							•		GS	•	•	•	R16	•	GS	GS	•	•	•		4	12
Nigeria							•		•	•	•	•	•	•	R16	R16	GS	•	GS		4	12
Tunisia							•		•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	GS	GS	GS	•		4	12
Algeria									•	•	•	GS	GS	•	•	•	•	•	GS		3	11
South Africa															•	GS	GS	•	GS		3	5
Ivory Coast										•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	GS		2	10
Egypt		1R			•					•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•		2	12
Ghana							•		•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	R16	QF		2	11
Angola													•	•	•	•	•	GS	•		1	7
Congo DR										GSa	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•		1	9
Senegal									•	•	•	•	•		•	•	QF	•	•		1	10
Togo										•	•	•			•	•	•	GS	•		1	8
Total	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	5	5	5	6		34

a As Zaire.

• Firsts
  • First African team to qualify for the World Cup: Egypt (1934)
  • First African team to win a match in the World Cup: Tunisia (1978)
  • First African team to qualify consecutively for two times: Algeria (1986)
  • First African team to reach the knockout stage: Morocco (1986)
  • First African team to reach the quarter-final: Cameroon (1990)
  • First African team to host the World Cup: South Africa (2010)
• Only's
  • Only African team that has always qualified to the knock out stage: Ghana (2010)

Women's World Cup Finals

The following CAF members have competed in the following FIFA Women's World Cups. Teams are sorted by number of appearances.

Team	1991	1995	1999	2003	2007	2011	2015	Total
Nigeria	GS	GS	QF	GS	GS	GS		6
Ghana			GS	GS	GS			3
Equatorial Guinea						GS		1
Total	1	1	2	2	2	2		10

• q – Qualified for the 2015 Women's World Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• GS – Group stage
• Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  ••  — Qualified but withdrew
•  •  — Did not qualify
•  ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew from the Africa Cup of Nations or withdrew from the Confederations Cup / Banned
•    — Hosts

Team	1992	1995	1997	1999	2001	2003	2005	2009	2013	2017	2021	Total
Cameroon	•	•	•	•	GS	2nd	•	•	•			2
Ivory Coast	4th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•			1
Egypt	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	GS	•			2
Nigeria	•	4th	×	×	•	•	•	•	q			1
South Africa	×	•	GS	•	•	•	•	4th	•			2
Tunisia	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•			1
Total	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1

Rankings

Men's National Teams

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

CAF	FIFA	Country	Points	+/−
1	14	Ivory Coast	995
2	19	Algeria	887
3	25	Mali	809
4	30	Ghana	777
5	34	Zambia	697
6	41	Egypt	615
7	42	Gabon	609
8	45	Tunisia	606
9	52	Central African Republic	581
10	52	Nigeria	581
11	54	Libya	572
12	60	Guinea	527
13	61	Cameroon	523
14	62	Sierra Leone	521
15	69	Cape Verde	498
16	71	Togo	491
17	74	Morocco	466
18	75	Benin	457
19	77	Senegal	455
20	79	Equatorial Guinea	439
21	84	Angola	428
22	84	Uganda	428
23	87	South Africa	416
24	89	Burkina Faso	408
25	101	Sudan	349
26	101	Zimbabwe	349
27	104	Burundi	342
28	105	Niger	335
29	107	Congo DR	332
30	109	Congo	325
31	110	Ethiopia	323
32	111	Malawi	318
33	112	Liberia	312
34	112	Mozambique	312
35	119	São Tomé and Príncipe	275
36	121	Botswana	274
37	121	Namibia	374
38	130	Tanzania	253
39	134	Kenya	246
40	134	Rwanda	246
41	140	Chad	212
42	141	Gambia	206
43	159	Lesotho	130
44	174	Guinea-Bissau	66
45	178	Swaziland	61
46	179	Madagascar	55
47	194	Comoros	29
48	195	Somalia	27
49	196	Eritrea	24
50	196	Seychelles	24
51	199	South Sudan	20
52	202	Djibouti	13
53	202	Mauritius	13
54	206	Mauritania	3

Last updated December 19, 2012

Women's National Teams

Rankings are calculated by FIFA based on matches played over the last four years.

CAF	FIFA	Country	Points	+/−
1	27	Nigeria	1675
2	50	Cameroon	1470
3	51	Ghana	1459
4	56	South Africa	1412
5	62	Equatorial Guinea	1371
6	68	Ivory Coast	1343
7	70	Morocco	1330
8	73	Tunisia	1325
9	74	Algeria	1320
10	79	Senegal	1295
11	83	Egypt	1289
12	90	Mali	1204
13	94	Zimbabwe	1191
14	101	Ethiopia	1158
15	104	Angola	1134
16	106	Congo DR	1113
17	113	Guinea	1063
18	114	Namibia	1017
19	119	Tanzania	941
20	119	Zambia	941

Last updated August 17, 2012

CAF overall ranking of African Clubs titles

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

Pos	Club	Titles	Trophies won
1	Al-Ahly SC	16	7 African Cup of Champions Clubs-CAF Champions Leagues; 4 CAF Cup Winners' Cups; 5 CAF Super Cups
2	Zamalek SC	9	5 African Cup of Champions Clubs-CAF Champions Leagues; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup; 3 CAF Super Cups
3	ES Sahel	8	1 CAF Champions League; 2 CAF Cup Winners' Cups; 2 CAF Cups; 1 CAF Confederation Cup; 2 CAF Super Cups
4	TP Mazembe	7	4 African Cup of Champions Clubs-CAF Champions Leagues; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup; 2 CAF Super Cups
5	JS Kabylie	6	2 African Cup of Champions Clubs; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup; 3 CAF Cups
6	Raja CA Casablanca	5	3 African Cup of Champions Clubs-CAF Champions Leagues; 1 CAF Cup; 1 CAF Super Cup
	ES Tunis	5	2 African Cup of Champions Clubs; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup; 1 CAF Cup; 1 CAF Super Cup
8	Canon Yaoundé	4	3 African Cup of Champions Clubs; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup
	Enyimba International FC	4	2 CAF Champions Leagues; 2 CAF Super Cups

Update as of 5 February 2011 in chronological order.

Top 20 African Clubs

Rankings are calculated by the IFFHS based on matches played over the last year till the date of release.

CAF	IFFHS	Club	Points
1	74	Al-Hilal Club (Omdurman)	142.5
2	76	Espérance ST	141.0
3	193	Al-Merreikh SC	127.5
4	114	Djoliba AC	116.0
5	128	Al Ahly SC	108.5
6	140	Sunshine Stars F.C.	105.0
7	145	Wydad Casablanca	103.0
8	156	G.D. Interclube	101.5
9	161	MAS Fez	98.5
10	171	Club Africain	96.0
11	178	Zamalek SC	95.0
12	195	Djoliba AC	91.5
13	199	Dynamos F.C.	90.5
14	228	ASO Chlef	84.0
15	256	Heartland F.C.	79.5
16	259	Coton Sport FC de Garoua	78.0
17	269	Stade Malien	77.5
18	286	Enyimba International F.C.	75.5
19	310	TP Mazembe	73.5
20	322	C.R.D. Libolo	71.5

Last updated 28 February, 2013

CAF overall ranking of African Clubs

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

CAF	Club	Points
1	Al-Ahly SC	74.0
2	Zamalek SC	60.0
3	ES Sahel	50.0
4	ES Tunis	47.0
5	Asante Kotoko FC	44.0
6	ASEC Mimosas	42.0
7	Canon Yaoundé	36.0
8	JS Kabylie	35.0
9	Accra Hearts of Oak SC	31.0
10	Africa Sports	30.0

CAF Best Footballers of the Century

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". Voting process as explained by the IFFHS.

CAF Best Player of the Century

Player Name	Points
George Weah	95
Roger Milla	77
Abédi Pelé	72
Lakhdar Belloumi	56
Rabah Madjer	51
Théophile Abega	39
Laurent Pokou	38
Kalusha Bwalya	37
Ahmed Faras	35
Finidi George	32

CAF Best Goalkeeper of the Century

Player Name	Points
Joseph-Antoine Bell	39
Thomas Nkono	30
Sadok Sassi "Attouga"	26
Badou Zaki	24
Mwamba Kazadi	19
Jacques Songo'o	13
Bruce Grobbelaar	11
Ahmed Shobair	10
Alain Gouaméné	9
Peter Rufai	6

CAF Best Women's Footballer of the Century

Player Name	Points
Uche Eucharia Ngozi	21
Rita Nwadike	18
Doris Nkiru Okosieme	17
Florence Omagbemi	15
Ann Chiojirie	14
Nana Ama Gyamfuah	13
Fikhile Sitole	9
Vivian Mensah	8
Mercy Akide	7
Ann Agumanu

CAF Golden Jubilee Best Players Poll

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 CAF's 50th anniversary, ordered according to an online poll.

01. Roger Milla 02. Mahmoud El Khatib 03. Hossam Hassan 04. Samuel Eto'o 05. Abedi Pele 06. George Weah 07. Didier Drogba 08. Nwankwo Kanu 09. Rabah Madjer 10. Kalusha Bwalya

11. Michael Essien 12. Augustine Okocha 13. Saleh Selim 14. Hacène Lalmas 15. Benni McCarthy 16. El Hadji Diouf 17. Noureddine Naybet 18. Rashidi Yekini 19. Hany Ramzy 20. Hassan Shehata

21. Lucas Radebe 22. Tarak Dhiab 23. Mohammed Timoumi 24. Anthony Yeboah 25. Salif Keita 26. Karim Abdul Razak 27. Samuel Kuffour 28. Lakhdar Belloumi 29. Rigobert Song 30. Nasr El-Deen "Djaksa" Abbas

Top/Best 15 African Clubs

Continental Football Clubs Ranking - Africa

Latest Update: After matches played 2012

Africa Club Rankings:

Rnk Team Country

1 TP Mazembe Congo DR

2 Al Ahly Egypt

3 ES Tunis Tunisia

4 Al Merreikh Sudan

5 Al Hilal Omdurman Sudan

6 Cotonsport Cameroon

7 Vita Club Congo DR

8 Kaizer Chiefs South Africa

9 Dynamos Zimbabwe

10 Etoile Sahel Tunisia

11 Orlando Pirates South Africa

12 Zamalek Egypt

13 Recreativo do Libolo Angola

14 Stade Malien Mali

15 Djoliba Mali

CAF's Anthem

On September 18, 2007 the CAF launched a competition for all African composers to create its Anthem. The CAF anthem is a musical composition, without lyrics, which and reflect the cultural patrimony and African music. The duration of the anthem is 74 seconds. The chosen anthem was first published to the site on January 16, 2008. The usage of the anthem and its composer are still unknown.

Announced September 18, 2007

See also

CAF competitions

Clubs: CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup CAF Super Cup CAF Cup (1992–2003) African Cup Winners' Cup (1975–2003)

National: Africa Cup of Nations CAF U-23 Championship African U-20 Championship African U-17 Championship African Championship of Nations African Women's Championship African U-20 Cup of Nations for Women African U-17 Cup of Nations for Women African Futsal Championship CAF Beach Soccer Championship

Inter Continental: UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup (U-18) Afro-Asian Cup of Nations Arab Nations Cup Afro-Asian Club Championship Arab Champions League

Regional: CECAFA Cup WAFU Nations Cup Amilcar Cabral Cup COSAFA Cup CEMAC Cup UNIFFAC Cup (U-17) UNAF U-23 Tournament

CAF resolutions

Awards: CAF Awards African Footballer of the Year CAF Clubs of the 20th Century

Qualifications: CAF 5-Year Ranking

Related articles

• History of CAF
• List of presidents of CAF
• List of first international of African national teams
• IFFHS Africa's best clubs of the 20th century

External links

• Confederation Of African Football official CAF site
• Confederation of African Football, Soccerlens.com. Retrieved: 09/10/2010.
• CAF video highlights
• The history of the Confederation Of African Football
• Listen to CAF Anthem CAF Anthem