UNAF explained

Union of North African Football Arabic: اتحاد شمال إفريقيا لكرة القدم French: Union nord-africaine de football
Size:	200 px
Map:	North Africa (orthographic projection).svg
Formation:	26 February 2005
Type:	Sports organization
Region Served:	North Africa
Language:	Arabic, English, French and Spanish
Headquarters:	Tunis, Tunisia
Leader Title:	President
Affiliations:	CAF

The Union of North African Football (UNAF; Arabic: اتحاد شمال إفريقيا لكرة القدم|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. The post of president will be rotated among the five founding nations.^[1]

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]

Board of directors

Current board of directors

President	Years
President	Abdelhakim Al-Shalmani
General Secretary	Mahmoud Hammami
Assistant General Secretary	Ridha Kraiem
Chairman of the Technical Committee	Chafik Ameur
Chairman of the Finance Committee	Hassan Filali
Chairman of the Referees Committee	Essam Abdel Fattah
Chairman of the Medical Committee	Chafik Jarraya

Former presidents

President	Years
Samir Zaher	2005–2008
Mohamed Raouraoua	2008–2011
Ali Fassi-Fihri	2011–2014
Wadi Jari	2014–2018
Jamal Al-Jaafari	2018–2019
Abdelhakim Al-Shalmani	2019–2024
Gamal Allam	2024–Present

Member associations

UNAF has 5 member associations. All associations were founding members of UNAF. All of them are members of the Confederation of African Football and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA).

	Association	National teams	Founded	FIFA affiliation	CAF affiliation	UAFA affiliation	UNAF affiliation
ALG			1962	1963	1964	1974	2005
EGY			1921	1923	1957	1974	2005
LBY			1962	1964	1965	1974	2005
MAR			1955	1960	1959	1976	2005
TUN			1957	1960	1960	1976	2005

Competitions

See also: List of association football competitions and FIFA International Match Calendar. UNAF runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth, clubs and futsal.

Current title holders

See also: FIFA International Match Calendar.

Competition		Year	Champions	Title	Runners-up		Next edition	Most titles
National teams
U-23 tournament		2011		1st			TBA	(2)
U-20 tournament		2023		4rd			TBA	(9)
U-18 tournament		2019		1st			TBA	(1) (1)
U-17 tournament		2024		3rd			TBA	(4) (4) (4)
U-16 tournament		2022		1st			TBA	(1) (1) (1)
U-15 tournament		2019		2nd			TBA	(2)
Futsal tournament		2010		3rd			TBA	(3)
National teams (women)
Women's tournament		2020		1st			TBA	(1) (1)
U-21 women's tournament		2019	Algeria	1st	Morocco		TBA	Algeria (1)
U-20 women's tournament		2023		2nd				(2)
U-17 women's tournament		2023					TBA
Schools women's tournament		2022	School Al-Khattab de Rabat	1st	School Laroui de Sousse		2024
Club teams
Club cup		2015	Raja Casablanca	1st	Ismaily SC		TBA	Raja Casablanca (1)
Club teams (women)
Women's club tournament		2009	ASF Sahel	1st	Wadi Degla		TBA	FC Berrechid (1) ASF Sahel (1)
CAF Women's Champions League UNAF Qualifiers	2023	SC Casablanca	1st	Afak Relizane	2024	Wadi Degla (1) AS FAR (1) SC Casablanca (1)
Women's U-20 club tournament

Defunct competitions

Competition	Year	Champions	Title	Runners-up	–	Most titles
Club teams (Men's)
UNAF Cup of Champions	2010	Club Africain	2nd	MC Alger	–	Club Africain (2)
UNAF Cup Winners Cup	2010	ES Sétif	1st	Al-Nasr Benghazi	–	–
UNAF Super Cup	2010	ES Sétif	1st	CS Sfaxien	3 teams (1 title each)	ES Sétif (1)

Major tournament records

Legend

• – Champions
• – Runners-up
• – Third place
• – Fourth place
• QF – Quarter-finals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present: knockout round of 8)
• GS – Group stage
• R2 – Round 2 (1974–1978, second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–present: knockout round of 16)
• R1 – Round 1

• Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
• – Qualified but withdrew
• – Did not qualify
• – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
• – Hosts
• – Not affiliated in FIFA

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	R1	•	•	•	•	•	R1	R2	•	•				4/23
	×	R1	×	×	•	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	•	R1	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1	•				3/23
	occupied by France						•	×	R1	•	•	•	R2	•	R1	R1	•	•	•	•	R1	4th		Q		6/23
	occupied by France						•	×	•	•	R1	•	•	•	•	R1	R1	R1	•	•	R1	R1				6/23
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	TBD	TBD	TBD	19

Firsts

• 1934: first African team to qualify for the World Cup
• 1970: first African team to draw a match in the World Cup
• 1978: first African team to win a match in the World Cup
• 1982: first African team to win two matches in the World Cup
• 1986: first African team to qualify two consecutive World Cups
• 1986: first African team to reach the knockout stage (round of sixteen)
• 2022: first African team to reach the semi-finals

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)	Years
														•	•	•	•	QF	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1	•	•	2/28
						R1	QF	4th	R1	R1	R1	•	R1	4th	•	•	•	•	QF	•	R1	•	•	•	•	QF	•	QF	Q	13/28
													•	R1	•	QF	•	•	R1	•	R1	•	R1	R1	•	R1	•	•	Q	8/28
													R1	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1	•	R1	•	R1	•	•	•	•	•	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
					×	GS	•	•	•	•	•	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	4th	3rd	GS	3rd	1st	GS	••	QF	GS	QF	GS	QF	•	•	4th	•	GS	QF	GS	bgcolor=Gold	1st	GS	GS			20/34
	bgcolor=Gold	1st	1st	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	3rd	×	×	3rd	•	3rd	4th	•	4th	×	4th	1st	GS	GS	GS	QF	QF	bgcolor=Gold	1st	QF	QF	GS	1st	bgcolor=Gold	1st	bgcolor=Gold	1st	•	•	•	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	R2	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	R2			26/34
		•	×	•	×	×	×	×	2nd	•	•	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•			3/34
		×	•	×	×	•	GS	×	bgcolor=Gold	1st	GS	3rd	•	•	4th	4th	•	GS	•	•	QF	GS	GS	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	GS	GS	•	GS	GS	••	QF	R2	QF	R2	Q		20/35
		3rd	GS	2nd	•	×	×	×	•	4th	×	GS	•	•	•	•	•	GS	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	QF	4th	GS	1st	QF	QF	GS	QF	GS	QF	QF	4th	QF	GS			21/34
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	TBD	TBD	89

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record
Team	2009 (8)	2011 (16)	2014 (16)	2016 (16)	2018 (16)	2020 (16)	2022 (17)	2024 (TBD)	Years
	•	4th	×	×	•	•	2nd		2/7
	×	×	×	×	•	×	×		0/7
	GS	•	bgcolor=Gold	1st	•	4th	GS	GS		5/7
	•	•	QF	GS	1st	bgcolor=Gold	1st	••		4/7
	•	bgcolor=Gold	1st	•	QF	×	••	×		2/7
Total (5 teams)	1	2	2	2	2	2	2		13

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)	Years
	R1	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•		1/9
	×	×	R1	R2	R1	R1	R2	QF	R1		7/9
	×	×	×	•	×	R1	R1	•	•		2/9
	×	×	×	•	•	•	R1	R1	QF		3/9
	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	×		0/9
Total (5 teams)	1	0	1	1	1	2	3	2	2		13

Futsal Africa Cup of Nations

Futsal Africa Cup of Nations record
width=170	Team					2011				Years
	×	×	×	×		×	•		0/6
	bgcolor=gold style="border:3px solid red"	1st	bgcolor=gold style="border:3px solid red"	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd		bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd		6/6
	×	3rd	×	bgcolor=gold style="border:3px solid red"	1st		R1	4th		4/6
	×	bgcolor=silver	2nd	3rd	3rd		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold style="border:3px solid red"	1st		5/6
	×	×	×	R1		R1	×		2/6
Total (5 teams)	1	3	2	4	/	4	3		17

Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations

Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations record
	2006 (6)	2007 (8)	2008 (8)	2009 (9)	2011 (9)	2013 (8)	2015 (8)	2016 (8)	2018 (8)	2021 (7)	2022 (8)	2024		Apps
	×	×	×	×	6th	×	×	×	×	×	×			1
	3rd	5th	4th	4th	3rd	R1	6th	3rd	3rd	5th	bgcolor=silver	2nd		Q	12
	×	×	×	R1	8th	R1	××	8th	8th	××	××			5
	6th	×	×	5th	5th	bgcolor=#cc9966 style="border:3px solid red"	3rd	5th	4th	4th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd		bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd		9
	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×			0
Total (5 teams)	2	1	1	3	4	3	2	3	3	3	3			28

Former tournaments

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Team	1992 (4)	1995 (6)	1997 (8)	1999 (8)	2001 (8)	2003 (8)	2005 (8)	2009 (8)	2013 (8)	2017 (8)	Years
	•	•	•	R1	•	•	•	R1	•	•	2/10
	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1	•	•	•	1/10
Total (2 teams)	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	3

Rankings

Men's national teams

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.^[3]

UNAF	CAF	FIFA	Country	Points
1	1	11		1672.35
2	3	30		1526.2
3	6	35		1490.34
4	7	40		1486.72
5	30	120		1156.74

Last updated 20 June 2024

Women's national teams

Rankings are calculated by FIFA based on matches played over the last four years.^[4]

UNAF	CAF	FIFA	Country	Points
1	3	59		1426.09
2	8	78		1280.87
3	12	84		1264.25
4	13	94		1217.29
-	-	-		Unranked

Last updated 14 June 2024

Men's national beach soccer teams

UNAF	CAF	FIFA	Country	Points
1	2	18		711
2	3	21		665
3	11	64		83
4	16	84		39
5	n/a	n/a		–

Last updated 8 May 2023

Women's national beach soccer teams

UNAF	CAF	FIFA	Country	Points
1	2	20		79
2	n/a	n/a		–
3	n/a	n/a		–
4	n/a	n/a		–
5	n/a	n/a		–

Last updated 8 May 2023

Men's national futsal teams

UNAF	CAF	FIFA	Country	Points
1	1	8		1502
2	2	37		1112
3	3	42		1080
4	8	93		800
5	9	96		790

Last updated 23 June 2023

African school football championship

The 2023 CAF African Schools Football Championship Qualifiers took place in Cairo, Egypt.^{[5] [6]} Libya won the boys category and Morocco won the girls category, thus both qualifying African Schools Football Championship Finals.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Controversy

On 20 November 2009, the Egyptian Football Association withdrew its membership citing the incidents that accompanied the playoff between Egypt and Algeria,^{[10] [11]} but returned in 2011.

See also

• Confederation of African Football (CAF)
• Central African Football Federations' Union (UNIFFAC)
• Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA)
• Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA)
• West African Football Union (WAFU)

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. News: North Africa to get federation. Shaheen. Amr. 20 February 2005. BBC Sport. 2009-09-06.
2. News: تاريخ إتحاد شمال إفريقيا . UNAF official website .
3. Web site: The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Men) - CAF Region . https://web.archive.org/web/20141102142122/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/caf.html. dead. November 2, 2014. FIFA . 4 June 2015.
4. Web site: The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking (Women) - CAF Region . https://web.archive.org/web/20070604173129/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=f/fullranking.html#confederation=23913&rank=534 . dead . June 4, 2007 . FIFA . 2011-12-23 .
5. Web site: 2023-12-17 . Cairo to kick off CAF African Schools Football Championship UNAF Qualifiers . 2023-12-20 . CAF . en-GB.
6. Web site: القاهرة تفتح ذراعيها لاحتضان النسخة الثانية من تصفيات منطقة “يوناف” التأهيلية لبطولة المدارس الإفريقية . 2023-12-20 . UNAF: Union Nord Africaine de Football . en-US.
7. Web site: 2023-12-19 . Libya, Morocco to represent UNAF at CAF African Schools Football Championship Finals . 2023-12-20 . CAF . en-GB.
8. Web site: فتيات المغرب يتوجن ببطولة المدارس الإفريقية لمنطقة اتحاد شمال شمال افريقيا لكرة القدم “يوناف” . 2023-12-20 . UNAF: Union Nord Africaine de Football . en-US.
9. Web site: ليبيا تتوج بالبطولة الافريقية للمدارس للأولاد لمنطقة إتحاد شمال افريقيا لكرة القدم . 2023-12-20 . UNAF: Union Nord Africaine de Football . en-US.
10. Web site: EFA suspends membership in UNAF . November 2009. Egypt State Information. 28 February 2010.
11. Web site: Egypt retire from UNAF. 21 November 2009. El Watan. fr. 28 February 2010.