Football in Africa

History

Football was first introduced to Africa in the late 19th century by Europeans. The game was first played in the continent in 1862; historian Peter Alegi said that it "spread very quickly through the mission schools, through the military forces and through the railways." Teams were being established in South Africa before 1900, and in Algeria during a similar time period. CS Constantine is the oldest African football club that remains in existence; it began play in Algeria in 1898. By the 1930s, football was being played in Central Africa.

As Africa is a highly superstitious continent many African teams depend on witch doctors for success. Activities that witch doctors have performed for teams include cutting players, placing potions on equipment, and sacrificing animals.

Children are often exploited by agents also. Other issues faced in African football include a lack of organisation by national team officials, and internal disputes between players and federation officials.

Competitions

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was founded in 1957, with four member nations: Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan. The first Africa Cup of Nations was held the same year, with a three-team field. Egypt won the inaugural African Cup of Nations, defeating Ethopia 4–0 in the final. As the sport grew football associations grew across the continent. Qualification rounds were added for the 1962 event. African national teams compete in the Africa Cup of Nations and also in the African Nations Championship for local teams.

The first African nation to participate in the FIFA World Cup was Egypt in 1934. That remained the only World Cup appearance by a team from the continent until 1966, when a team from CAF was originally scheduled to compete in a playoff with teams from Asia and Oceania for one tournament berth. In response, CAF nations boycotted World Cup qualifying, and FIFA granted CAF one guaranteed berth in the 1970 tournament. Starting in 1970, African nations at the FIFA World Cup started to compete regularly. Zaire was Africa's representative at the 1974 edition of the competition. The team lost all three of its games. In 1977, Pelé stated his belief that a team from the continent would be crowned World Cup champions by the end of the 20th century, which proved incorrect.

After the 1970, 1974, and 1978 World Cups, which each had one African qualifier, there were two teams from the continent in 1982: Algeria and Cameroon, each of which missed out on advancing from the group stage on goal difference. The 1986 and 1990 World Cups also featured two African nations; Morocco reached the round of 16 in 1986 after finishing first in their group. Cameroon advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup, becoming the first African national team to do so. Senegal and Ghana matched the feat, in 2002 and 2010 respectively. By 2010 South Africa become the first African nation to host the World Cup.

Women's football

Numerous Nigerian cities hosted women's football teams by 1960. Multiple efforts were made in the 1960s to start women's football clubs in South Africa, but they proved fleeting. The 1970s saw some growth, with new women's leagues in Nigeria and an expansion of women's football into Western African countries, including Senegal. One local club in Dakar played a match against an Italian club in 1974; five years later, an early match between African nations was played by the Dakar side and a team from Guinea.

Despite a lack of support from Nigerian officials, 28 clubs played women's football in the country by 1989, and Nigeria's national team competed in the 1991 Women's World Cup. More women began playing football in the 1990s, in countries like Nigeria and South Africa. In 1998, CAF introduced an official African Women's Championship, following two unofficial versions of the tournament earlier in the 1990s; host country Nigeria won, beginning a stretch of five consecutive titles in the event. The next year, the squad reached the quarterfinals of the 1999 Women's World Cup.

Football is played in a limited capacity by women due to a lack of funding. The masculine nature of football has proved a deterrent to women's involvement in football in Africa.