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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is proud to announce that the clubs participating in this year’s CAF Inter-Club competitions have met the CAF Club Licensing requirement of having a women’s team as part of their structure. This achievement is a result of CAF’s collaboration with its Member Associations, Clubs, and other stakeholders in promoting and enhancing the growth of women’s football on the continent.
To compete in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup 2023/24, all clubs must have an active women’s team participating in a sanctioned competition by their respective Football Association, in accordance with Article 27 of the CAF Men’s Club Licensing Regulations, which came into full effect in July 2022. CAF has worked closely with its Member Associations in guiding the clubs to fulfil this requirement, resulting in several new women’s teams being formed and more support for women’s teams at the national level.
In order to comply with this criteria, clubs had to meet either one of the following prerequisites: operate the women’s team(s) themselves or have a written agreement with another entity that operates the team(s). In case of a written agreement between the licence applicant (club) with another entity who operates the women´s first team, as a minimum, the agreement had to include clauses with the name of the entities, validity (minimum 1 season), general conditions, resources to be provided to the adopted team related to technical, financial, infrastructure, and other areas.
As a result of this successful implementation, the clubs engaged in this season’s TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup 2023/24 have met the women’s team requirement, with 56 of these clubs having a women’s team as part of their structure. TP Mazembe (RDC), Zamalek SC (Egypt), Al Ahly SC (Egypt), RS Berkane (Morocco), are some of the clubs amongst several others that have committed to having an active women’s team within their structure.
This new requirement adopted by CAF has also led to 44 participating clubs having entered into an agreement with a women’s team, resulting in more support for women’s game. Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs (RSA), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia), Enyimba FC (Nigeria), USM Alger (Algeria) among others established a partnership agreement with another club that operates a women’s team.
Raul Chipenda, CAF’s Director of Technical Development, said, “The value of women’s football has been consistently demonstrated, making it essential for CAF to work with all relevant stakeholders in implementing strategies to take women’s football in Africa to its highest level.”
“The collaboration of the clubs and our Member Associations has shown a shared objective across Africa to advance women’s football. CAF’s successful initiatives in elevating the women’s game have been a global inspiration, ensuring continuous growth and success for women’s football on the continent. We are proud as confederation to fully adopt this mandatory women’s teams club licensing requirement in the CAF Inter-Club moving forward,” he concluded.
CAF’s efforts to promote women’s football continue to yield incredible results. During the 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand, three African nations (Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa) reached the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first for the continent. CAF has also hosted a CAF C License coaching course for female coaches involved in women’s football in several Member Associations, including Ghana. All six of CAF’s zones have successfully hosted qualifiers for the third edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League, which will take place in Cote d’Ivoire from 5-19 November.
