Governing Body

CAF (Confederation of African Football)

Said as a word, KAF, not spelled out as letters.

Also Known As CAF

Continental Sport Confederations

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum by the football associations of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa, following the 1954 FIFA Congress's recognition of Africa as its own football confederation. Two days later, on 10 February 1957, the first Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in the same city; South Africa remained a founding member on paper but was excluded from play over its apartheid-era racial selection policy.

Facts

Body Type

Continental confederation 1

Founded

1957 1

Headquarters

Founded at the Grand Hotel, Khartoum, Sudan. 1

Founders

Founding members: the football associations of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa, confirmed at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, 8 February 1957. 1

Body Type

Body Type (category)

Continental Confederation 1

Learn More

Born Two Days Before Kickoff: CAF and the First Africa Cup of Nations

This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.

The Confederation of African Football and the Africa Cup of Nations share a birth week rather than a founding decade apart, an unusually tight sequence among the competitions in this wave. CAF was established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum by the football associations of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa, a decision that followed the 1954 FIFA Congress's recognition of Africa as its own football confederation. Two days later, on 10 February 1957, the first Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in the same city, contested by three of the four founding nations, since South Africa was excluded from play over its apartheid era racial selection policy even as it remained a founding member of the confederation on paper.

Egypt won that first tournament, beating Ethiopia four goals to nil in the final, a result that opened a period of early Egyptian dominance in a competition that has since grown from three participating nations to a continent wide championship contested by dozens.

FAQs

Where did the idea for CAF begin, and who became its first president?

It began at the 1956 FIFA Congress in Lisbon, and Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem of Egypt became the first president.

The idea began outside Africa. At the FIFA Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 1956, the four African nations in attendance, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa, used the gathering to discuss matters of common interest. They agreed to meet again in Khartoum in February 1957 to draft statutes and plan the first Africa Cup of Nations. After the statutes were adopted, Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem of Egypt was unanimously chosen as the confederation's first president. He had already been the first African representative on the FIFA Executive Committee, a seat the continent gained when the 1954 FIFA Congress in Berne voted to recognize Africa as a confederation.