Introduction

Cameroon's Benoît Assou-Ekotto jostles for possession with Mustapha Allaoui of Morocco

Football is the most popular sport in Africa. Indeed, football is probably the most popular sport in every African country, although rugby and cricket are also very popular in South Africa. (Full article...)

Football was first introduced to Africa in the early 1860s by Europeans,[1] due to the colonisation of Africa. The first recorded games were played in South Africa in 1862 between soldiers and civil servants and there were no established rules for the game at this time;[2]" Initially, there were various forms of playing the game, which included elements of both rugby and soccer. It was not until October 26, 1863 that the "rules of association football were codified."[2] The first official football organization in Africa, Pietermaritzburg County Football Association, was established in 1880.Teams were being established in South Africa before 1900, Egypt and in Algeria during a similar time period. Savages FC (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), and Gezira SC are the oldest African football clubs that remain in existence. Both began play in 1882 followed by Alexandria SC (1890), CDJ Oran from Algeria in 1894 and CAL Oran from Algeria too in 1897. By the 1930s, football was being played in Central Africa. In 1882, the first national governing body on the content was formed, South African Football Association (SAFA). SAFA was a whites-only association that became the first member of FIFA in South Africa in 1910.[2]
Egyptian Olympic football team, 1928
As Africa is a highly superstitious continent many African teams depend on witch doctors for success.[3][4][5][6][7] Activities that witch doctors have performed for teams include cutting players, placing potions on equipment, and sacrificing animals.[8]

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The African Nations Championship, (in French Championnant d'Afrique des Nations) known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 2009 and first announced on 11 September 2007. The participating nations must consist of players playing in their national league competitions.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo for short) and Morocco are the most successful teams in this tournament with two titles each, followed by Tunisia, Libya and incumbent champions Senegal with one each. The tournament began life in 2009 with 8 teams, which was doubled for the 2nd edition up until the 6th and is currently contested by 18 teams since the 2022 edition.

Since the 2014 edition, matches of every edition of this tournament from qualification to the final will be computed to calculate the forthcoming FIFA World Rankings following its conclusion, which CAF exclaimed at the time as "an important step for the competition's development". At the time, FIFA considers the tournament "friendly" since it is restricted to players from local leagues to participate. The tournament is held biennially and alternates with the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Madjid Bougherra in 2012
Madjid Bougherra is a retired Algerian professional footballer who played as a defender.

Bougherra began his professional football career with French club Gueugnon before having spells with English sides Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic. Bougherra moved to Rangers in the summer of 2008 for a fee of £2.5 million, he made his debut against Falkirk in August of that year. Bougherra made 113 appearances for Rangers and was a key part of the team that won the Scottish Premier League championship in seasons 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11. In August 2011 Rangers sold Bougherra to Lekhwiya for £1.7 million.

An Algerian international since 2004, Bougherra has participated in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, where Algeria finished fourth, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He served as the team's captain for the 2014 World Cup.

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Drogba holding the European Cup following Chelsea's penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich
Drogba holding the European Cup following Chelsea's penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich
Credit: rayand

Didier Drogba holding the European Cup following Chelsea's penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich

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Sources

  1. ^ "The History Of Soccer In Africa". NPR.org. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c Alegi, Peter (2010). African Soccerscapes. Ohio University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780896802780.
  3. ^ Frimpong, Enoch Darfah. "Ghana news: A world of superstition, frustration and disillusionment - Graphic Online". Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ^ Lacey, Marc (8 August 2002). "Kangemi Journal; For Spellbinding Soccer, the Juju Man's on the Ball". The New York Times. NY Times. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  5. ^ "World Cup Witchcraft: Africa Teams Turn to Magic for Aid". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  6. ^ Andy Mitten (September 2010). The Rough Guide to Cult Football. Rough Guides UK. ISBN 9781405387965. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  7. ^ "African Nations Cup overshadowed by hocus pocus | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  8. ^ Kuper, Simon (2006). Soccer Against the Enemy: How the World's Most Popular Sport Starts and Stops Wars, Fuels Revolutions, and Keeps Dictators in Power. Nation Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-56025-878-0.
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