UNAF
Association football organising body
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The Union of North African Football (UNAF; Arabic: اتحاد شمال إفريقيا لكرة القدم, romanized: Ittiḥād Shamāl Ifrīqyā li-Kurat al-Qadam; French: Union nord-africaine de football) is an association football organising body. It was launched in 2005 by the North African members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, with Mauritania joining in 2025. The post of president will be rotated among the five founding nations.[1]
| Formation | 26 February 2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports organization |
| Headquarters | Tunis, Tunisia |
Region served | North Africa |
| Membership | |
Official language | Arabic, English, French and Spanish |
President | |
| Affiliations | CAF |
| Website | www |
History
The Union of North African Football (UNAF) was founded in 2005 and includes the countries of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia and is continued to the Confederation of African Football that have 53 national football associations distributed into 6 regions. The UNAF is the sixth region of the continent by division accredited to the CAF and the Union has presided over in the first parliamentary period immediately following its founding by Mr. Samir Zaher a former president of the Egyptian Football Association, the president is elected during a plenary session for a period of 4 years by the members of the Union and are the heads of the five unions and the president-elect proposes as his deputy from among the immediate superiors five national unions during the first meeting of an executive office following the election as General Assembly by the Executive Office to determine the heads and members of the committees.
The recent president elected is Mr. Wadii Jari, a president of the Tunisian Football Federation. He was unanimously elected chairman of the UNAF for a term of four years and during the electoral general assembly, which was held on Saturday 25 October 2014 in Tunis. He was also selected Mr. Gamal Allam, a head of the Egyptian Football Association as a vice-president of the UNAF unanimously. On the other hand, the General Assembly approved in particular on the administrative and financial reports of the UNAF as well as the adoption of the estimated budget of the Union project for the year 2015 and the report of the Finance Committee meeting held on 23 October 2014. The program was approved on the North African Union's activities for the year 2015.[2]
On December 2025, Mauritania left the West African Football Union to join the UNAF.[3]
Board of directors
Current board of directors
Former presidents
| President | Years |
|---|---|
| 2005–2008 | |
| 2008–2011 | |
| 2011–2014 | |
| 2014–2018 | |
| 2018–2019 | |
| 2019–2024 | |
| 2024–2025 | |
| 2025–Present |
Member associations
UNAF has 6 member associations. All associations except from Mauritania were founding members of UNAF. All of them are members of the Confederation of African Football and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA).
| Code | Association | National teams | Founded | FIFA affiliation | CAF affiliation | UAFA affiliation | UNAF affiliation | IOC member |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALG | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1974 | 2005 | Yes | ||
| EGY | 1921 | 1923 | 1957 | 1974 | 2005 | Yes | ||
| LBY | 1962 | 1964 | 1965 | 1974 | 2005 | Yes | ||
| MAR | 1955 | 1960 | 1959 | 1976 | 2005 | Yes | ||
| MTN | 1961 | 1970 | 1976 | 1989 | 2025 | Yes | ||
| TUN | 1957 | 1960 | 1960 | 1976 | 2005 | Yes |
Competitions
UNAF runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth, clubs and futsal.
Current title holders
Defunct competitions
| Competition | Year | Champions | Title | Runners-up | – | Most titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club teams (Men's) | ||||||
| UNAF Cup of Champions | 2010 | 2nd | – | |||
| UNAF Cup Winners Cup | 2010 | 1st | – | – | ||
| UNAF Super Cup | 2010 | 1st | – | |||
Major tournament records
- Legend
|
|
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
FIFA World Cup
| FIFA World Cup record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1930 (13) |
1934 (16) |
1938 (15) |
1950 (13) |
1954 (16) |
1958 (16) |
1962 (16) |
1966 (16) |
1970 (16) |
1974 (16) |
1978 (16) |
1982 (24) |
1986 (24) |
1990 (24) |
1994 (24) |
1998 (32) |
2002 (32) |
2006 (32) |
2010 (32) |
2014 (32) |
2018 (32) |
2022 (32) |
2026 (48) |
2030 (48) |
2034 (48) |
Years |
| occupied by France | × | • | • | • | R1 13th | R1 22nd | • | • | • | • | • | R1 28th | R2 14th | • | • | Q | 5/15 | |||||||||
| × | R1 13th | × | × | • | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | R1 20th | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 31st | • | Q | 4/16 | |||
| protectorate of France | • | × | R1 14th | • | • | • | R2 11th | • | R1 23rd | R1 18th | • | • | • | • | R1 27th | 4th | Q | Q | 7/16 | |||||||
| protectorate of France | • | × | • | • | R1 9th | • | • | • | • | R1 26th | R1 29th | R1 24th | • | • | R1 24th | R1 21st | Q | 7/16 | ||||||||
| Total (4 teams) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | TBD | TBD | 19 |
- Firsts
- 1934:
Egypt first African team to qualify for the World Cup - 1970:
Morocco first African team to draw a match in the World Cup - 1978:
Tunisia first African team to win a match in the World Cup[5] - 1982:
Algeria first African team to win two matches in the World Cup[6][7] - 1986:
Algeria first African team to qualify two consecutive World Cups - 1986:
Morocco first African team to reach the knockout stage (round of sixteen)[8] - 2022:
Morocco first African team to reach the semi-finals[9]
Olympic Games For Men
| Olympic Games (Men's tournament) record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1900 (3) | 1904 (3) | 1908 (6) | 1912 (11) | 1920 (14) | 1924 (22) | 1928 (17) | 1936 (16) | 1948 (18) | 1952 (25) | 1956 (11) | 1960 (16) | 1964 (14) | 1968 (16) | 1972 (16) | 1976 (13) | 1980 (16) | 1984 (16) | 1988 (16) | 1992 (16) | 1996 (16) | 2000 (16) | 2004 (16) | 2008 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2020 (16) | 2024 (16) | 2028 (12) | Years | |
| Part of France | • | • | • | • | QF 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 14th | • | • | 2/28 | ||||||||||||||
| R1 8th | QF 8th | 4th | R1 9th | R1 11th | R1 9th | • | R1 12th | 4th | • | • | • | • | QF 8th | • | R1 12th | • | • | • | • | QF 8th | • | QF 8th | 4th | 13/28 | |||||||
| Part of France | • | R1 13th | • | QF 8th | • | • | R1 12th | • | R1 15 | • | R1 16th | R1 10th | • | R1 11th | • | • | 3rd | 8/28 | |||||||||||||
| Part of France | R1 15th | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 13th | • | R1 14th | • | R1 12th | • | • | • | • | • | 4/28 | |||||||||||||
| Total (4 teams) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 27 | ||
Africa Cup of Nations
| Africa Cup of Nations record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1957 (3) |
1959 (3) |
1962 (4) |
1963 (6) |
1965 (6) |
1968 (8) |
1970 (8) |
1972 (8) |
1974 (8) |
1976 (8) |
1978 (8) |
1980 (8) |
1982 (8) |
1984 (8) |
1986 (8) |
1988 (8) |
1990 (8) |
1992 (12) |
1994 (12) |
1996 (15) |
1998 (16) |
2000 (16) |
2002 (16) |
2004 (16) |
2006 (16) |
2008 (16) |
2010 (15) |
2012 (16) |
2013 (16) |
2015 (16) |
2017 (16) |
2019 (24) |
2021 (24) |
2023 (24) |
2025 (24) |
2027 (24) |
Years |
| Part of France | × | GS | • | • | • | • | • | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | GS | 3rd | 1st | GS | •• | QF | GS | QF | GS | QF | • | • | 4th | • | GS | QF | GS | 1st | GS | GS | QF | 21/35 | |||||
| 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | × | × | 3rd | • | 3rd | 4th | • | 4th | × | 4th | 1st | GS | GS | GS | QF | QF | 1st | QF | QF | GS | 1st | 1st | 1st | • | • | • | 2nd | R2 | 2nd | R2 | 4th | 27/35 | ||
| • | × | • | × | × | × | × | 2nd | • | • | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | GS | • | • | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 3/35 | |||||||
| × | • | × | × | • | GS | × | 1st | GS | 3rd | • | • | 4th | 4th | • | GS | • | • | QF | GS | GS | 2nd | GS | GS | • | GS | GS | •• | QF | R2 | QF | R2 | 2nd | 20/35 | ||||
| Part of France | × | × | • | • | × | • | × | × | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | • | • | GS | GS | R16 | • | 3/35 | ||||||||||
| 3rd | GS | 2nd | • | × | × | × | • | 4th | × | GS | • | • | • | • | • | GS | 2nd | QF | 4th | GS | 1st | QF | QF | GS | QF | GS | QF | QF | 4th | QF | GS | R16 | 22/35 | ||||
| Total (5 teams) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | TBD | 93 |
African Nations Championship
FIFA Futsal World Cup
| FIFA Futsal World Cup record | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1989 (16) | 1992 (16) | 1996 (16) | 2000 (16) | 2004 (16) | 2008 (20) | 2012 (24) | 2016 (24) | 2021 (24) | 2024 (24) | 2028 (24) | Years |
| R1 15th | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | 1/9 | ||
| × | × | R1 12th | R2 6th | R1 9th | R1 13th | R2 14th | QF 8th | R1 19th | • | 7/9 | ||
| × | × | × | • | × | R1 16th | R1 24th | • | • | R1 18th | 3/9 | ||
| × | × | × | • | • | • | R1 23rd | R1 20th | QF 8th | QF 7th | 4/9 | ||
| × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | × | × | 0/9 | ||
| Total (5 teams) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | |
Futsal Africa Cup of Nations
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Year Team |
Beach Soccer World Championships | FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup | Appearances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 (8) |
1996 (8) |
1997 (8) |
1998 (10) |
1999 (12) |
2000 (12) |
2001 (12) |
2002 (8) |
2003 (8) |
2004 (12) |
2005 (12) |
2006 (16) |
2007 (16) |
2008 (16) |
2009 (16) |
2011 (16) |
2013 (16) |
2015 (16) |
2017 (16) |
2019 (16) |
2021 (16) |
2024 (16) |
2025 (16) |
2027 (16) |
WC /10 |
FIFA /13 |
Total /23 | |||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 12th | • | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total (1 team) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations
| Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year Team |
2006 (6) |
2007 (8) |
2008 (8) |
2009 (9) |
2011 (9) |
2013 (8) |
2015 (8) |
2016 (8) |
2018 (8) |
2021 (7) |
2022 (8) |
2024 (8) |
2026 (?) |
Apps ⁄12 | |
| × | × | × | × | 6th | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 1 | |||
| 3rd | 5th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | R1 | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 12 | |||
| × | × | × | R1 | 8th | R1 | × | 8th | 8th | × | × | × | 5 | |||
| 6th | × | × | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 10 | |||
| × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 0 | |||
| Total (5 teams) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 30 | ||
Former tournaments
FIFA Confederations Cup
Rankings
Men's national teamsRankings are calculated by FIFA.[10]
|
Women's national teamsRankings are calculated by FIFA based on matches played over the last four years.[11]
|
Men's national beach soccer teams
|
Women's national beach soccer teams
|
Men's national futsal teams
African school football championship
Controversy
On 20 November 2009, the Egyptian Football Association withdrew its membership citing the incidents that accompanied the playoff between Egypt and Algeria,[16][17] but returned in 2011.[citation needed]