West African Football Union
Union des Fédérations Ouest-Africaines de Football
Formation1975 (1975)
TypeSports organization
Region served
West Africa
Membership
Official language
English, French and Portuguese
AffiliationsCAF, FIFA
Websiteufoawafub.com

The West African Football Union (French: Union des Fédérations Ouest-Africaines de Football; Portuguese: União das Federações Oeste Africanas), officially abbreviated as WAFU-UFOA and WAFU, is an association of the football playing nations in West Africa. It was the brainchild of the Senegal Football Federation who requested that the nations belonging to CAF's Zone A and B meet and hold a regular competitive tournament. The union organises several competitions including the WAFU Nations Cup and in 2008 they organised an under-20 championship.

Presidents

The union's current president is actually Amos Adamu, but he was banned for three years from football activity by FIFA over vote-buying claims for the bids of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. Kwesi Nyantakyi was appointed interim president in Adamu's absence. Adamu has since appealed the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[1]

Member associations

The union was founded in 1975 with all the current members, but in 2011 the Confederation of African Football decided to split it into two zones, citing "the organisational issues that face WAFU."[4][1]

  • Zone A (Niger)
  • Zone B (Volta Niger)

Mauritania is the only WAFU member to also be a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations.

Country Zone Governing body
 Cape Verde Zone A Cape Verdean Football Federation
 Gambia Gambia Football Association
 Guinea Guinean Football Federation
 Guinea-Bissau Football Federation of Guinea-Bissau
 Liberia Liberia Football Association
 Mali Malian Football Federation
 Mauritania Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
 Senegal Senegalese Football Federation
 Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Football Association
 Benin Zone B Benin Football Federation
 Burkina Faso Burkinabé Football Federation
 Ghana Ghana Football Association
 Ivory Coast Ivorian Football Federation
 Niger Nigerien Football Federation
 Nigeria Nigeria Football Federation
 Togo Togolese Football Federation

Competitions

WAFU runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth.

Current title holders

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition Dates
National teams
WAFU Nations Cup 2019  Senegal 1st  Ghana 2021
Zone A U-20 Championship 2022  Senegal 2st  Gambia TBD
Zone B U-20 Championship 2023  Ivory Coast 1st  Burkina Faso TBD TBD
Zone A U-17 Championship 2022  Mali  Senegal TBD
Zone B U-17 Championship 2022  Nigeria  Burkina Faso 2024
Zone A U-15 Championship 2022  Senegal  Liberia TBD
Zone A Schools Championship 2022[5] Guinea CS Ben Sekou Sylla 1st The Gambia New Yundum TBD
Zone B Schools Championship 2022 Benin CEG Sainte Rita 1st Ivory Coast CS Venus Saioua TBD
National teams (women)
Zone A Women's Cup 2023  Senegal 2nd  Cape Verde TBD TBD
Zone B Women's Cup 2019  Nigeria 1st  Ivory Coast TBD TBD
WAFU Zone A U20 Women's Cup 2023  Senegal 1st  Guinea TBD TBD
WAFU Zone B U20 Women's Cup 2023  Ghana 1st  Nigeria TBD TBD
Zone A Girls Schools Championship 2022[5] The Gambia Scan Aid 1st Guinea-Bissau Ecole Congresso De Cassaca TBD
Zone B Girls Schools Championship 2022 Benin CEG Colby 1st Burkina Faso Ecole Chanvigny B TBD
Clubs (women)
CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone A Qualifiers 2023 Mali AS Mabdé 1st Senegal AS Dakar 2024 TBD
CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone B Qualifiers 2022 Ghana Ampem Darkoa Ladies F.C. 1st Nigeria Delta Queens F.C. 2024 TBD

Defunct competitions

Competition Years
CEDEAO Cup1977–1991
West African Club Championship1977–2011
Amílcar Cabral Cup1979–2007
West African Nations Cup1982–1987
UEMOA Tournament2007–2016

FIFA world rankings

Men's national teams

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.[6]

WAFU Zone FIFA Country Points +/−
1 A 18  Senegal 1584.59 Steady
2 B 31  Nigeria 1504.70 Steady
3 A 46  Mali 1442.88 Steady
4 B 52  Ivory Coast 1435.91 Steady
5 B 55  Burkina Faso 1425.64 Steady
6 B 60  Ghana 1393.47 Steady
7 A 73  Cape Verde 1331.46 Decrease 1
8 A 83  Guinea 1294.89 Steady
9 B 91  Benin 1258.71 Steady
10 A 107  Mauritania 1181.86 Increase 3
11 A 113  Sierra Leone 1169.71 Steady
12 A 115  Guinea-Bissau 1165.53 Steady
13 B 119  Niger 1155.23 Steady
14 A 124  Gambia 1137.47 Steady
15 B 126  Togo 1130.22 Steady
16 A 150  Liberia 1051.25 Steady

Last updated 25 August 2022

Top Ranked Men's National Football Teams

Senegal national football teamIvory coast national football teamGhana national football teamIvory coast national football teamCape verde national football teamIvory coast national football teamGhana national football teamNigeria national football teamIvory coast national football teamNigeria national football team

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Caf have split the West African Football Union into two separate zones". Goal.com. Goal.com. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Wafu Cup to make a comeback". BBC Sport. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "Nyantakyi resigns from FIFA, CAF, and WAFU positions". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  4. ↑ "West African Football Union (Wafu) disbanded by Caf". British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC.co.uk. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 "ZONE OUEST A – U15 2022". zoneouesta.org. cafonline.com. 21 Aug 2022. Retrieved 21 Aug 2022.
  6. ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Men) - CAF Region". FIFA. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014.
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