West African Football Union
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.
Zone A Zone B | |
| Formation | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports organization |
Region served | West Africa |
Membership | |
Official language | English, French and Portuguese |
| Affiliations | CAF, FIFA |
| Website | http://ufoawafub.com/ |
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]
- K. Tandoh (1975–1977)
- Seyi Memene (1977–1984)
- Abdoulaye Fofana (1984–1988)
- Jonathan Boytie Ogufere (1988–1994)
- Dieng Ousseynou (1994–1999)
- Abdulmumini Aminu (1999–2002)
- El Hadji Malick Sy (2002–2004)
- Jacques Anouma (2004–2008)[2]
- Amos Adamu (2008–2010)
- Kwesi Nyantakyi (2011–2018)[3]
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.
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 | 2022 | Nigeria | 1st | Benin | 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] | CS Ben Sekou Sylla | 1st | New Yundum | TBD | |||
| Zone B Schools Championship | 2022 | CEG Sainte Rita | 1st | CS Venus Saioua | TBD | |||
| National teams (women) | ||||||||
| Zone A Women's Cup | 2020 | Senegal | 2nd | Mali | 2023 | TBD | ||
| Zone B Women's Cup | 2019 | Nigeria | 1st | Ivory Coast | 2023 | TBD | ||
| WAFU U20 Women's Cup | 2023 | TBD | ||||||
| Zone A Girls Schools Championship | 2022[5] | Scan Aid | 1st | Ecole Congresso De Cassaca | TBD | |||
| Zone B Girls Schools Championship | 2022 | CEG Colby | 1st | Ecole Chanvigny B | TBD | |||
| Clubs (women) | ||||||||
| CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone A Qualifiers | 2021 | AS Mandé | 1st | 2022 | TBD | |||
| CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone B Qualifiers | 2021 | Hasaacas Ladies F.C. | 1st | Rivers Angels F.C. | 2022 | TBD | ||
Defunct competitions
| Competition | Years |
|---|---|
| CEDEAO Cup | 1977–1991 |
| West African Club Championship | 1977–2011 |
| Amílcar Cabral Cup | 1979–2007 |
| West African Nations Cup | 1982–1987 |
| UEMOA Tournament | 2007–2016 |
FIFA world rankings
Men's national teams
Rankings are calculated by FIFA.[6]
| WAFU | Zone | FIFA | Country | Points | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 18 | Senegal | 1584.59 | |
| 2 | B | 31 | Nigeria | 1504.70 | |
| 3 | A | 46 | Mali | 1442.88 | |
| 4 | B | 52 | Ivory Coast | 1435.91 | |
| 5 | B | 55 | Burkina Faso | 1425.64 | |
| 6 | B | 60 | Ghana | 1393.47 | |
| 7 | A | 73 | Cape Verde | 1331.46 | 1 |
| 8 | A | 83 | Guinea | 1294.89 | |
| 9 | B | 91 | Benin | 1258.71 | |
| 10 | A | 107 | Mauritania | 1181.86 | 3 |
| 11 | A | 113 | Sierra Leone | 1169.71 | |
| 12 | A | 115 | Guinea-Bissau | 1165.53 | |
| 13 | B | 119 | Niger | 1155.23 | |
| 14 | A | 124 | Gambia | 1137.47 | |
| 15 | B | 126 | Togo | 1130.22 | |
| 16 | A | 150 | Liberia | 1051.25 |
Last updated 25 August 2022
Top Ranked Men's National Football Teams
See also
References
- ^ a b "Caf have split the West African Football Union into two separate zones". Goal.com. Goal.com. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ "Wafu Cup to make a comeback". BBC Sport. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "Nyantakyi resigns from FIFA, CAF, and WAFU positions". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
- ^ "West African Football Union (Wafu) disbanded by Caf". British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC.co.uk. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b "ZONE OUEST A – U15 2022". zoneouesta.org. cafonline.com. 21 Aug 2022. Retrieved 21 Aug 2022.
- ^ . FIFA. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014.
External links
- West African Football Union A – official website UFOA A
- West African Football Union B – official website UFOA B