Africans have always played football. Indeed, some of the
Best footballers the planet has ever seen, including the likes of Didier
Drogba, Jay Jay Okocha, and Yaya Toure, are of African origin. A few African
players have also acquired foreign nationalities to play for other countries,
which gives us a lot of pride. Unfortunately, most of these top African
footballers ply their trade abroad for the biggest Football Leagues in the
world such as the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the Italian
Serie A, the French League 1, and the Spanish La Liga.
Again, we must be proud
of this because we want Africans to be the best and to achieve this they must
play at the highest possible level. But, what if these stars were to come back
home? What if they came back to Africa and were looking to play for an African
Football Club? Which are some of the clubs they would consider joining, the
best clubs around?
Here is a list of the top 10 Football Clubs in Africa I
would be proposing to our top talents if they ever showed interest in playing
for a club on home soil.
worldsoccer.com
1. TP Mazembe – Congo DR
Tout Puissant Mazembe (TP Mazembe), formerly known as
Englebert is probably the highest ranked football club in Africa. The Congolese
club is based in Lubumbashi and play their games in the Stade TP Mazembe
located along the Kalamondo suburbs. TP Mazembe has annual revenue of €14
million. The attendance is 18,000.
2. Al-Merrikh Sudan
Al-Merrikh is an Omdurman based Sudanese football club who
play at Al-Merrikh Stadium – locally popular as the Red Castle. The club is one
of the oldest in the whole of Africa and has won the Sudan Premier League 18
times. Al-Merrikh was founded in 1908 and was the first club to win the Sudan
football championship back in 1934.
3. Esperance de Tunis – Tunisia
Esperance de Tunis is a Tunis based Tunisian football club.
It was founded in January 1919. They play at the Stade Olimpique d’El Menzah.
Esperance have won the Tunisian League 26 times, the Tunisian Cup14 times, and
the Tunisian Super cup twice. They have also won two CAF Champions Leagues, two
Arab Club Championship cups, and an Arab Super Cup.
4. Raja Casablanca – Morocco
Raja is an Arabic word for “hopefulness.” Raja was founded
in 1949 and is currently the most well-known club outside Morocco. In 2000, it
was ranked third by CAF’s top clubs of the past decade. Raja has won the
Moroccan domestic title 10 times. They were the first African Club to
participate in the FIFA World Club Championships in 2000 in Brazil.
5. Al Hilal Omdurman – Sudan
This is another Sudanese football club. It was founded in
February 1930 and is based in Omdurman. They have won the Sudan Premier League
seven times in the last 9 seasons alone and have been crowned champions of the
competition 27 times in total.
6. AS Vita Club – Congo DRC
Association Sportive Vita Club is a Congolese football club.
The club is based in Kinshasa. AS Vita was founded in 1935 and have since gone
on to win the Linafoot 12 times and the Coupe du Congo nine times. They’ve also
won the Challenge Papa Kalala twice and were crowned champions of the African
Cup of Champions Clubs in 1973.
7. Kaizer Chiefs – South Africa
They are the “Amakhosi”, “Chiefs”, or “Lords” of the South
African football. The Kaizer Chiefs play at Soccer City in Soweto also known as
FNB Stadium. They’ve won the Premier Soccer League thrice, the National Soccer
League thrice and the African Cup Winners once.
8. Al Ahly – Egypt
El Ahly means “The National” in English. The Egyptian
football club was founded in April 1907. In 2000, it was named the Africa Club
of the Century by CAF. Al Ahly has 126 official trophies – 19 international and
107 domestic. The 19 international trophies make Al-Ahly the most successful
football club on earth, better than AC Milan and Boca Juniors.
9. Dynamos – Zimbabwe
Dynamos Football Club was formed in 1963 after a merger of
Harare Township and Rhodesia. Since then they’ve won 15 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer
League titles and the Cup of Zimbabwe five times.
10. El Zamalek – Egypt
El Zamalek is an Egyptian football club based in Giza. They
have won 22 Egyptian Cups, 11 League titles, 5 CAF Champions League titles and
3 CAF Super Cups as well as an African Cup Winners Cup.
Summary
There are about a thousand professional football clubs in
Africa, but these 10 are unquestionably the best of the lot.
No comments: