History of the Confederation of African Football facts for kids

Headquarter of CAF in 6th of October City, Egypt.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is a big organization that manages football (soccer) across Africa. It started small in 1957. Today, it has 55 member countries. CAF organizes the main football tournaments in Africa.

CAF was a very important group during the time many African nations became independent. It is one of the six main football groups under FIFA, which is the world's football governing body. CAF's main goals were to set up international tournaments. It also wanted to help African football grow around the world.

CAF's most important job was to organize the African Cup of Nations. The first Cup of Nations happened in 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan. This was even before Europe had its first Nations Cup! CAF's official languages were French, English, and Arabic. In 1960, many African countries became independent. This helped CAF and the African Nations Cup grow even bigger.

How CAF Started

The idea for the Confederation of African Football began in 1954. This was at a big meeting of FIFA in Bern, Switzerland. Four African countries were there: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

At this meeting, Africa was finally recognized as a special zone. This meant Africa could have a representative on the FIFA Executive Committee for the first time. Engineer Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem from Egypt became this representative.

It was not easy to get this recognition. Some countries, like Argentina, thought football in Africa and Asia was not good enough. But Great Britain and other countries supported Africa. They voted 24 to 17 in favor. After this, the African group decided to meet in Lisbon in 1956. They wanted to create their own football confederation.

Fighting Apartheid in Football

A big issue for CAF was South Africa. At that time, South Africa had a system called Apartheid. This system separated people by race. There were two football groups in South Africa. One was only for white players. The other was for all other races.

Black athletes and organizers fought against this unfair system. They wanted all races to play together. FIFA at first did not let the mixed-race group join. South Africa was later suspended from FIFA in 1961. They stayed out of world football until 1992.

CAF was one of the first international groups to stand up against Apartheid. This was in 1957, even before the Organization of African Unity was formed. At that time, many global sports groups, like the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, accepted Apartheid. They said CAF was "mixing politics with sports."

FIFA even told CAF to let Apartheid South Africa back in. But CAF refused. Instead, CAF demanded that FIFA itself remove the racist South African group. This was a brave stand for the young CAF.

Later, FIFA's president, Sir Stanley Rous, visited South Africa. He said the football group had nothing to do with racial discrimination. So, FIFA voted to let South Africa back in at a meeting in Cairo in 1963.

But African countries kept fighting this decision. In 1964, at a meeting in Tokyo, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Ghana pushed for South Africa to be kicked out again. They won the vote! South Africa was suspended once more. Sir Stanley Rous tried to change this, but Africa successfully blocked him.

Founding the African Cup of Nations

The official meeting to create CAF happened on February 8, 1957. It was held at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan. Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Africa were there.

They created the rules for CAF. They also made rules for the African Cup of Nations. Engineer Salem was chosen as the first CAF President. The first African Cup of Nations started on February 10, 1957. South Africa was not allowed to play. They could not present a team with players of all races.

Ethiopia went straight to the final. In the other game, Egypt beat the host nation, Sudan, 2-1. The final was easier for Egypt. They won 4-0 against Ethiopia. All goals were scored by Mohammad Diab El Attar, also known as "Ad-Diba". He was the top scorer with 5 goals. Egypt won the first African Champions title after only two games.

CAF Moves to Cairo

CAF faced a problem early on. Important documents were lost in a fire at the Sudan Football Association office. Luckily, the rules had already been sent to FIFA. FIFA approved them in June 1957.

The rules said that CAF's main office should be where the president lived. So, the first CAF office was in Cairo, Egypt.

New Leaders and Growth

In 1958, General Abdel Aziz Moustafa became the new CAF President. Dr. Abdel Halim became the first African to be elected to the FIFA Executive Committee.

More countries joined CAF, like Ghana, Morocco, and Tunisia. In 1961, General Moustafa was re-elected President. Mourad Fahmy became the General Secretary. Countries had to pay a small yearly fee to be members.

At a meeting in Cairo in 1961, Ydnekatchew Tessema suggested moving CAF's headquarters to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He wanted to share duties and benefits more fairly. But his idea was not supported at that time.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) helped CAF a lot financially. EFA let CAF use two rooms in its new office. EFA also paid CAF's bills. The Egyptian Olympic Committee gave CAF money each year.

Big Changes for CAF

In January 1963, a very important meeting happened in Cairo. The Egyptian government helped pay for delegates to come. A record 23 national football groups attended. Even FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous was there.

Many big decisions were made. Africa was divided into six football zones. The CAF Executive Committee grew to have 12 members. Ohene Djan and Ydnekatchew Tessema became Vice-Presidents. New rules were also adopted.

New Club Competition

In November 1963, at a meeting in Accra, a new competition was created for club teams. This was the African Cup of Champions Clubs.

Tense Relationship with FIFA

CAF had many disagreements with FIFA, especially about Apartheid. Sir Stanley Rous even tried to create a separate football group in Southern Africa. This group would include South Africa and other countries. CAF leaders found out about this plan. They told Sir Stanley that all African groups would walk out of the FIFA meeting if he did not stop. Sir Stanley backed down to avoid a big public problem.

This was a very difficult time for FIFA and CAF. African countries had already decided to boycott the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. They refused to share a single spot with Asia. As a result, North Korea was the only team from both continents in the finals.

Rhodesia's Suspension

Another big issue was Rhodesia. CAF was the first international sports group to remove the Rhodesia Football Association from its members. This happened just four days after Rhodesia declared independence in 1965.

Five years later, in 1970, CAF pushed to remove Rhodesia from FIFA. Ydnekatchew Tessema and a lawyer from Ethiopia prepared a strong case. African countries threatened to walk out of the FIFA meeting if Rhodesia was not suspended. Many countries voted to suspend Rhodesia.

New Leadership and Focus

In 1968, Dr. Abdel Halim became the new CAF President. Rito Alcantara from Senegal became Vice-President. Tessema was re-elected to the executive committee. CAF also agreed to work with the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa (SCSA).

However, some members felt Dr. Halim was not making enough changes. So, in 1970, twenty countries signed a petition. They asked for a special committee to review and change the rules. Ydnekatchew Tessema was chosen to lead this committee.

Africa Demands Fair Share

In 1970, Ethiopia suggested that FIFA should collect money from games played by the four British football groups (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). This was because these groups had four votes in FIFA meetings and four spots in the World Cup. This idea was first rejected. But two years later, in 1972, the same idea was approved.

Tessema Becomes CAF President

In 1972, at a meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Ydnekatchew Tessema became the new CAF President. He won against Abdel Halim Mohammad. Professor Rene Essomba and Alcantara became Vice-Presidents. Egypt kept the CAF headquarters.

Tessema brought peace and focus to CAF. He helped solve early problems. He directed CAF to focus on developing football across Africa. Many people see him as the most successful African football leader. He helped set up the game for the future.

Even with disagreements, the early leaders always respected each other. As more African countries became independent, CAF grew stronger in FIFA meetings. But this also brought challenges. The differences between Arab, French-speaking, and English-speaking African countries made it harder to keep the "One Africa" motto. This is still a challenge for African football unity today.

New Club Competitions and Growth

In 1975, the African Cup Winners' Cup was started. Three years later, an African youth competition was organized. In 1985, CAF started a qualifying tournament for boys under 16.

CAF's money greatly improved because it organized more competitions. In 1982, CAF even started selling the TV and advertising rights for the Cup of Nations.

Hayatou's Leadership Era

Issa Hayatou became the CAF President in 1988. He took over from Tessema. Under Hayatou's leadership, African football made huge progress.

• The African Cup of Nations grew from 8 teams to 12 teams in 1992. Since 1996, it has featured 16 teams.
• The African Youth Championship was changed in 1991. Now, eight teams play in a final tournament every two years.
• A competition for players Under-17 started in 1995.
• The African Cup of Champions Clubs became the CAF Champions League in 1997. It offers big prize money to top clubs.
• In 2004, the CAF Confederation Cup was created. It replaced two other club competitions. This cup is for teams that finish second in their leagues or win their local cups.
• CAF's budget for developing football grew from $100,000 to over $2,000,000.
• CAF worked with UEFA (Europe's football body) on the Meridian Project in 1997. This project holds an under-18 championship every two years between African and European teams. UEFA also helps two African countries with money and support every two years.
• CAF moved to a new, modern headquarters in 6th of October City, Cairo, in 2002. It cost four million dollars.
• Since 2002, CAF has paid for a delegate from each of its 53 member countries to attend its main meetings. This has helped more countries participate.
• Hayatou helped increase Africa's representation in the FIFA World Cup. Africa went from two teams in 1994 to five teams in 1998. Six African teams played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
• Under his leadership, an African country finally hosted the FIFA World Cup.
• African teams did well in competitions. Cameroon and Senegal reached the quarter-finals in the World Cup. Nigeria and Cameroon won Olympic gold medals in football.
• A program called Contract with Africa started in 2005. It helps develop football at the local level and improve facilities across the continent.

Hayatou was re-elected unopposed in 2009. Today, CAF has 55 members. This includes Réunion and Zanzibar as associate members.

Promoting Women's Football

Under Hayatou's leadership, CAF did a lot to help women's football grow in Africa.

• In 1998, CAF organized the first official Women's Championship in Nigeria.
• In 2002, CAF organized the first Under-20 Women's Championship.
• In 2008, it started the Under-17 Women's Championship. CAF also created the CAF Female Player of the Year award.

CAF's 50-Year Celebration

In 2007, CAF celebrated its 50th anniversary. They held events in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa. These were the four founding countries.

The celebrations started on February 7, 2007, in Cairo. There was a friendly football match between Egypt and Sweden. Egypt won 2-0. This match helped raise money for charity.

The celebration then moved to Khartoum, CAF's birthplace. A meeting was held there about the future of African football. A historical documentary called The Anniversary Book was also presented.

The third part of the celebration was in Addis Ababa. The 2006 CAF Super Cup final was played there. Al Ahly (Egypt) won the match against Étoile Sportive du Sahel (Tunisia) after a penalty shootout.

The final part of the celebrations was in South Africa. There was an annual CAF meeting and a special gala night. They also attended a match between South Africa and Zambia.

In December 2007, CAF and Globacom honored the 10 best African players from the last 50 years.

CAF in the 21st Century

On October 6, 2023, CAF announced a new group called the African Clubs Association (ACA). This group includes the leaders of the 60 most successful football clubs in Africa.

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