African Football – African soccer was primarily negative [History of the Africa Cup]

Until recently, the attitude toward African soccer was primarily negative. But today, it is no longer considered something out of the ordinary. Almost every leading club in the world has African players.

And interest in African players continues to grow. It is worth noting that casinos in India online also have slots on soccer themes that you will definitely like. So what is the history of African soccer and its most famous player? Let’s find out!

History of the Africa Cup

The first final of the African Cup was held in 1957. Then Egypt defeated Ethiopia 4:1. And the first African Champions Cup was born in 1964: Cameroon defeated Mali – by 2:1. Interestingly, since the beginning of its participation in the world championships, African soccer has steadily progressed. At the world championships in 1970, 1974, and 1978, Africa was represented by one team each – Morocco, Zaire, and Tunisia. In the next three championships, already two teams were representing the “black continent”: Algeria – Cameroon, Algeria – Morocco, Cameroon – Egypt. 

  • In 1994, three teams from Africa were already present in the championship – Morocco, Nigeria, and Cameroon. And in 1998, the tournament was attended by five African teams. Africans managed to win gold in two Olympic soccer tournaments at once – in Atlanta (Nigeria) and Sydney (Cameroon). In terms of soccer, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia are mainly well developed on the African continent. Today’s favorites of African soccer are teams from South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Senegal.
  • Before creating the CAF (Confederation of African Football), Africa was represented in FIFA by four national associations. Egypt joined the Federation of World Football Associations in 1923, Sudan in 1948, South Africa in 1952, and Ethiopia in 1953. These countries constituted a peculiar regional group.
  • On June 6-9, 1956, the thirtieth FIFA Congress was held in Lisbon. And on June 7-8, the African delegates from Egypt, Sudan, and South Africa gathered at the Avendia Hotel and jointly announced the creation of the African Football Confederation. At this convention, it was also decided to hold the first continental competition in 1957 in Khartoum.
  • The first founding meeting of the CAF was held on February 8, 1957, in Khartoum. It was attended by Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Africa representatives. The constitution of the confederation was drawn up and adopted, as were the instructions for the African Cup. Abdelaziz Abdollah Salem was elected the first president of the CAF. Mohammed Youssef (Egypt) took the honorary post of general secretary. The start date of the first African Cup was set for February 10 in the absence of a South African representative. On June 21, 1957, in Zurich, the FIFA Executive Committee approved the decisions of the CAF.
  • Article 5 of the African Football Confederation statutes stipulated that the CAF headquarters was to be located in the same city where the president and general secretary of the organization resided. So Cairo took over as the headquarters of the CAF.
  • June 1958 – The third general assembly of the CAF was held in Stockholm during the FIFA Congress. Compatriot Abdelaziz Salem Abdelaziz Mustafa was appointed as the new president.

African soccer legend

In the world of sports, there are many people with exciting destinies. One of these is the Sudanese footballer Haidar Hassan Haj al-Siding, known as Ali Gagarin. But, first, we will tell you about this fantastic player.

How did the famous nickname appear?

The childhood of the future legend of African soccer took place in turbulent times. The boy grew up in a large family, and in his country, there was a civil war. Initially, the nickname Gagarin stuck to Haidar’s older brother Jafar. He got it because he raced down the left flank “like a rocket,” and the surname of the Soviet cosmonaut was just popular. Haidar inherited the pseudonym and added Ali, one of Allah’s 99 names, to it. Unfortunately, the audience never got to see the pair of brothers in the same club. Haidar started at Al Merreikh (his brother became a legend there), but then the 17-year-old talent was bought out by Al Hilal. He even had to pay a decent sum at the time (125 Sudanese pounds), but the child prodigy earned his money in full. The team won three Sudanese titles with him, and Haidar himself scored 350 goals (a record that has not yet been broken).

The main success in the career of African Gagarin

Ali Gagarin became famous with his team nine years later and won the African Cup. Initially, the tournament was to be held in Egypt, but due to the problematic situation in the country, it was moved to Sudan. The local team had twice stopped one step away from winning the continental championship by then. In 1970, no one had bet on the victory of the Sudanese national team, and the main favorite was Ghana.

Gagarin proved himself immediately – in the first match at the tournament. Sudan crushed Ethiopia (3-0), and Ali scored the winning goal. Unfortunately, African Gagarin played one more companion at the game and got injured after that. Sudan got out of the group thanks to a better goal difference, and in the semifinals, they beat Egypt in overtime. In the decisive match, Sudan beat Ghana (1-0) and achieved the severe only success at the international level. Incidentally, the Ghanaian players criticized the work of the refereeing team and did not show up at the awards ceremony. In response, the Prime Minister of Sudan ordered their immediate deportation from the country. Ali Gagarin became the continental champion at the age of 20.

Playing against Pele

In 1972 Sudan was selected for the Olympics in Munich. The African team was placed in the same group as the Soviet team, but the newspaper headlines like “Gagarin versus the Soviet Union” never appeared. For some unknown reason, Ali was not included in the final bid for the tournament, and his team lost all three matches in the group.

Another year later, Santos, who was touring the world, came to Sudan. The Brazilian club with the legendary Pele arrived in Africa for a friendly match with the team for which Gagarin played. The 1970 World Champion was welcomed with all honors, and his club won 2-1. Such trips proved highly lucrative for Santos, and many in Sudan must still remember the match.

What Ali Gagarin did after his career ended

The sunset of the “golden generation” of Sudanese soccer occurred in the late 1970s. Since then, the national team has never played in the final stage of the Africa Cup. Gagarin himself continued successful performances for the club Al-Hilal, regularly hitting opponents’ gates. Unlike many of his peers, Gagarin went to school and then to university and earned a master’s degree in French. Ali served as Sudan’s ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire and, at the same time, played for the local club Stade Abidjan. And he did it for free. Subsequently served as ambassador to several African countries, France and Turkey. He lived for several years in Paris and New York. Now the African Gagarin is 73 years old and has five daughters. He often goes to soccer and appears on television.