Confederation of African Football

Confederation of African Football Confédération Africaine de Football الإتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم
Formation	1957
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	6 October City, Egypt
Membership	55 member associations
Official languages	English, French and Arabic
Secretary General	Moustafa Fahmy
President	Issa Hayatou
Website	www.cafonline.com

The Confederation of African Football (CAF,  /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. The headquarters were few months in Khartoum 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. Its administrative center since 2002 is in 6th of October City, near Cairo. It was initially made up of 4 national associations. Currently there are 55 associations, 53 full members beside Zanzibar  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 African 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.^[1]

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^[2] and criticism^[3] following a decision to ban Togo from the next two Africa Cup of Nations matches,^[2] 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.^[4] CAF's parent body FIFA has expressed sympathy to Togo,^[5] but has not commented on CAF's actions.

CAF Members

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

53 Full Members

Algeria - 1964  Botswana - 1976  Cameroon - 1963  Chad - 1964  Congo DR - 1964  Egypt - 1957  Ethiopia - 1957  Ghana - 1958  Kenya - 1968  Libya - 1965  Mali - 1975  Morocco - 1959  Niger - 1964  São Tomé and Príncipe - 1986  Sierra Leone - 1967  Sudan - 1957  Togo - 1964  Zambia - 1964

Angola - 1980  Burkina Faso - 1964  Cape Verde - 2000  Comoros - 2005  Côte d'Ivoire - 1960  Equatorial Guinea - 1986  Gabon - 1967  Guinea - 1963  Lesotho - 1964  Madagascar - 1963  Mauritania - 1968  Mozambique - 1980  Nigeria - 1960  Senegal - 1964  Somalia - 1963  Swaziland - 1978  Tunisia - 1960  Zimbabwe - 1980

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 1 & 1992  Tanzania - 1964  Uganda - 1960

1 Associate Member

Réunion - 1993

Regional Federations

Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) - 1973  Burundi - 1994  Ethiopia - 1973  Somalia - 1973  Uganda - 1973  Djibouti - 1995  Kenya - 1973  Sudan - 1975  Zanzibar 2 - 1973 & 2003  Eritrea - 1994  Rwanda - 1994  Tanzania - 1973 West Africa Football Union (WAFU) - Union du Football de l'Ouest Afrique (UFOA) - 1975  Benin - 1975  Côte d'Ivoire - 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 Union des Fédérations de Football d'Afrique Centrale (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 Union of North Africa Football Federations (UNAF) - 2005  Algeria - 2005  Morocco - 2005  Egypt 3 - 2005  Tunisia - 2005  Libya - 2005 Non-regional Members  Réunion 2 ^ - Excluded from CAF and from 1st African Cup of Nations in 1957 due to Apartheid ^ - Non-FIFA member associations holding associate membership of CAF ^ - Member of UNAF from 2005 to 2009 and from 2011 - Withdrew from UNAF on the 19th of November 2009 but return on 2011

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 - Northern Zone

Algeria

Egypt

Libya

Morocco

Tunisia

CAF Zone 2 - Western Zone A

Cape Verde  Mauritania

Gambia  Senegal

Guinea  Sierra Leone

Guinea-Bissau

Mali

CAF Zone 3 - Western Zone B

Benin  Niger

Burkina Faso  Nigeria

Côte d'Ivoire  Togo

Ghana

Liberia

CAF Zone 4 - Central Zone

Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea

Central African Republic  Gabon

Chad  São Tomé and Príncipe

Congo

Congo DR

CAF Zone 5 - Central Eastern Zone

Burundi  Rwanda

Djibouti  Somalia

Eritrea  Sudan

Ethiopia  Tanzania

Kenya  Uganda

CAF Zone 6 - Southern Zone

Angola  Malawi  South Africa

Botswana  Mauritius  Swaziland

Comoros  Mozambique  Zambia

Lesotho  Namibia  Zimbabwe

Madagascar  Seychelles

Summer Olympics qualifiers

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		•						10
Ghana													QF	•	•					3rd	QF		•			6
Morocco													•		QF			•		•		•	•			6
Nigeria														•			•		•		1st	QF		2nd		6
Tunisia												•							•		•		•			4
Cameroon																		•				1st		QF		3
Zambia																	•		QF							2
Algeria																	QF									1
Côte d'Ivoire																								QF		1
Guinea														•												1
Mali																							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		43

Women

Nation	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	Total
Nigeria		•	QF	•		3
Total	0	1	1	1		3

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
•  •  — Did not qualify
•     — Did not enter
•     — Withdrew
•     — Banned
•     — Hosts

Men's World Cup Finals

See also: 2010 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
Ghana							•		•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	R16	QF		2	11
Côte d'Ivoire										•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	GS		2	10
Egypt		1R			•					•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•		2	12
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 reach the knockout stage:  Morocco (1986)
  • First African team to reach the quarter-final:  Cameroon (1990)

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	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 2011 Women's World Cup

Rankings

Men's National Teams Rankings are calculated by FIFA.[6] CAF FIFA Country Points +/− 1 19  Côte d'Ivoire 898 2 29  Egypt 775 3 33  Ghana 734 4 35  Algeria 713 5 42  Senegal 626 6 44  Nigeria 625 7 47  Cameroon 600 8 49  South Africa 595 9 54  Burkina Faso 578 10 56  Morocco 566 Last updated July, 15, 2011

Women's National Teams Rankings are calculated by FIFA based on matches played over the last four years.[7] CAF FIFA Country Points 1 27  Nigeria 1710 2 51  Ghana 1457 3 55  Equatorial Guinea 1431 4 66  Cameroon 1380 5 67  South Africa 1366 6 71  Morocco 1340 7 74  Tunisia 1335 8 75  Côte d'Ivoire 1331 9 78  Algeria 1320 10 84  Egypt 1299 Last updated July 22, 2011

Top 20 African Clubs Rankings are calculated by the IFFHS based on matches played over the last year till the date of release.[8] CAF IFFHS Club Points 1 81 Al-Ahly SC 126.5 2 84 ES Sétif 125.5 3 86 Heartland FC 124.0 4 88 Al-Hilal Club 123.5 5 113 Zamalek SC 111.0 6 131 JS Kabylie 103.0 7 138 Al-Merreikh SC 101.0 8 139 Haras El-Hodood Club 100.5 9 149 Ismaily SC 97.5 10 150 Espérance ST 96.0 11 184 Stade Malien 89.5 12 189 Al-Ittihad Club 88.5 13 196 CD Primeiro de Agosto 86.5 14 179 Supersport United FC 88.0 15 237 Atlético Petróleos Luanda 80.5 16 246 Petrojet FC 79.5 17 248 Kano Pillars FC 78.5 18 272 AS Vita Club 75.7 19 283 ENPPI Club 73.0 20 345 CR Belouizdad 65.5 Last updated July 30, 2008

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	14	6 African Cup of Champions Clubs-CAF Champions Leagues; 4 CAF Cup Winners' Cups; 4 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
7	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
	ES Tunis	4	1 African Cup of Champions Clubs; 1 CAF Cup Winners' Cup; 1 CAF Cup; 1 CAF Super Cup

Update as of 5 February 2011 in chronological order.

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.^[9]

CAF	Club	Points
1	Al-Ahly SC	74.0
2	Zamalek SC	60.0
3	ES Sahel	50.0
4	Asante Kotoko FC	44.0
5	ASEC Mimosas	42.0
6	ES Tunis	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,^[10] goalkeeper^[11] and female player,^[12] 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.^[13]

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 Abas El Din

CAF's Anthem

On September 18, 2007 the CAF launched a competition for all African composers to create its Anthem.^[14] 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 yet it's 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

Inter Continental: UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup Afro-Asian Cup of Nations Arab Nations Cup

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

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

References

1. ^ "Confederation Cup". CAF. http://www.cafonline.com/index.php?lng=1&opt=44&cmpt=19&titre=Past%20Competitions. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Togo given Africa Nations Cup ban". BBC News. 2010-01-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8489127.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
3. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/piersedwards/2010/01/caf_decision_over_togo_makes_n.html
4. ^ "Togo footballers shot in ambush". BBC News. 2010-01-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8449319.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
5. ^ http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/news/newsid=1155068.html#statement+togo
6. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Men) - CAF Region". FIFA. 8 April 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=23913&rank=200. 
7. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Women) - CAF Region". FIFA. 2011-07-22. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=f/fullranking.html#confederation=23913&rank=534. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
8. ^ "TOP 350 Club World Ranking". IFFHS. 2008-12-01. http://www.iffhs.de/?10f42e00fa2d17f73702fa3016e23c17f7370eff3702bb1c2bbb6f28f53512. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
9. ^ "African Club Ranking: Old-Time records from 1965 to 2007". CAF. 2008-05-08. http://www.cafonline.com/index.php?lng=1&cmpt=0&module=media&ANC=actualite&TNews=&idrub=97076&idnews=83214. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
10. ^ "Africa's Best Player of the Century". IFFHS. 1999-12-20. http://www.iffhs.de/?b40f8ca85bd0e027e8f05f5cfc5ffcc81314a433ccd40385fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedb8a3f0e03790c443e0f4039041e. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
11. ^ "Africa's Best Goalkeeper of the Century". IFFHS. 1999-12-20. http://www.iffhs.de/?f8ca85bd0e027e8f05f5cfc5ffcc81308d85ff8b00388f05005fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedb8a3f0e03790c443e0f40390b70e. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
12. ^ "Africa's Best Women's Footballer of the Century". IFFHS. 1999-12-10. http://www.iffhs.de/?42d03e32a16f43809fa3c17d73f17ff3204d23808f33717f7370eff3702bb1c2bbb6e28fc380de43110f83d00e0a. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
13. ^ "CAF release 30 best African players in the last 50 years". CAF. 2007-08-11. http://www.cafonline.com/caf/media-services/facts/77-caf-release-30-best-african-players-in-the-last-50-years.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
14. ^ "Competition for the CAF's anthem". CAF. 2007-09-18. http://www.cafonline.com/index.php?lng=1&module=media&idrub=94637&idnews=82041. Retrieved 208-11-13.