French West African Cup

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The French West African Cup or Coupe d'Afrique Occidentale Française was a football tournament between clubs of the former French Western African territories.

This area comprised the current states of Benin (then Dahomey), Burkina Faso (then Haute-Volta), Guinea (Guinée), Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), Mali (then Soudan), Mauritania (Mauritanie), Niger and Senegal (Sénégal). The current Togo was not part of the A.O.F. but its clubs gained entrance to the tournament during the last five editions (first in 1955/56).

The Ligue d'AOF de Foot-Ball was created in March 1946 in Dakar. The only French Western African territory which refused to enter was Mauritania. The organisation was officially affiliated to the FFF (French FA) in 1951.

The Coupe d'AOF was created in 1947, when the president of the Ligue d'AOF, Mr. Barat, received a trophy from the FFF. He immediately announced a competition for the trophy, a Coupe du Sénégal, for clubs from the "4 communes du Sénégal", Dakar, Gorée, Rufisque and Saint-Louis. Sixteen clubs from these towns, all in current Senegal, entered the first round (1/8 finals) of the competition, played early April 1947. On 17 April, a new weekly sports magazine, "Afriqu'Sports", appeared in Dakar, referring to the competition as "Coupe d'AOF". This name was eventually taken up be the other media, and the second edition then indeed extended beyond Senegal. Shortly after the introduction of the football cup, similar tournaments were started in rugby (1951) and basketball (1952).

The first edition in 1947, restricted to Senegal, had 16 participants; the highest number of participants (302) was reached in 1958/59, while the final edition (as Coupe Interfédérale; the territories of French West Africa were gradually gaining independence at the time) still had 205 participants (the regions of Guinée and Côte d'Ivoire did not enter).

Winners[edit]

Season Winner Score Runner-up Losing Semifinalists
lost to eventual winner lost to eventual runner-up
1947 US Gorée 2 - 1 ASC Jeanne d'Arc Espoir Saint-Louis Espérance Rufisque
1948 Foyer France Sénégal 4 - 0 Ivory Coast Jeunesse Club d'Abidjan Saint-Louisienne Racing Club de Conakry
1949 Racing Club de Dakar 3 - 0 Guinea Racing Club de Conakry Espoir Saint-Louis Ivory Coast USC Bassam
1949/50 Guinea Racing Club de Conakry 4 - 2 Espoir Saint-Louis Ivory Coast USC Bassam French Sudan Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako)
1950/51 ASC Jeanne d'Arc 3 - 1 French Sudan Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako) Ivory Coast Africa Sports US Indigène
1951/52 ASC Jeanne d'Arc 2 - 0 Republic of Dahomey Etoile Sportive Porto-Novo Ivory Coast Africa Sports Foyer France Sénégal
1952/53 French Sudan Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako) 3 - 1 Guinea Racing Club de Conakry US Gorée Ivory Coast Jeunesse Club d'Abidjan
1953/54 US Gorée 1 - 0 French Sudan Foyer du Soudan Republic of Dahomey Etoile Sportive Porto-Novo Guinea Racing Club de Conakry
1954/55 US Gorée 7 - 0 Ivory Coast ASEC Abidjan Republic of Dahomey AS Porto-Novo Avenir Saint-Louis
1955/56 French Sudan Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako) 3 - 0 Ivory Coast ASEC Abidjan Foyer France Sénégal Togo Essor
1956/57 Réveil de Saint-Louis 4 - 1 Ivory Coast Africa Sports Togo Etoile Filante (Lomé) French Sudan Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako)
1957/58 Ivory Coast Africa Sports 5 - 0 Ivory Coast ASEC Abidjan Foyer France Sénégal Guinea Société Sportive de Guinée
1958/59 Senegal Saint-Louisienne 2 - 1 Togo Modèle Lomé Ivory Coast Stella d'Abidjan Senegal ASC Jeanne d'Arc
1960 Togo Etoile Filante (Lomé) 2 - 1 Mali Jeanne d'Arc (Bamako) Republic of Dahomey AS Cotonou Senegal Saint-Louisienne