The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ranked the best 20 professional football leagues in Africa, thesportsbay.com reports.
The Egyptian Premier League is ranked the best followed by Morocco Botola Pro, Tunisia Ligue Professionnelle 1, Algeria Ligue Professionelle 1 and South Africa Premier Soccer League in that order.
The sixth position to eleventh position is occupied by Dr Congo Linafoot followed by Angola Girabola, Sudan Premier League, Guinea Ligue 1 Pro, Tanzania Ligi Kuu Bara, Libyan Premier League.
The Nigeria Professional Football League, Zambia Super League, Cameroon Elite One, Senegal Premier League, Cote d’Ivoire Ligue 1, Botswana BTC Premiership, Kenya FKF Premier League, Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League and Eswatini Premier League make up the 12th position to the 20th position.
Meanwhile, the top 12 leagues will be filled with 2 teams each in the CAF club competitions next season
1. The Egyptian Premier League
It is also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of the Egyptian football league system. The league comprises 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Egyptian Second Division.
70 clubs have competed in the Egyptian Premier League since its founding in 1948. Al Ahly have won the title 42 times, more than any other club. Only six other clubs have won the league before; those clubs are Ghazl El Mahalla, Ismaily, Al Mokawloon Al Arab, Olympic Club, Tersana and Zamalek.
2. Morocco Botola Pro
This is a Moroccan professional league for men’s association football clubs.
The Botola Pro is a corporation in which the 16 member clubs act as shareholders, Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 30 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away) totalling 240 matches in the season.
It is sponsored by Inwi and thus known as the Botola Pro Inwi. From 2015 to 2019, the league was called Botola Maroc Telecom for sponsorship reasons.
3. Tunisia Ligue Professionnelle 1
It was previously called the Tunisian National Championship between 1956 and 1994. is the top division football tournament in Tunisia under the organization of the Tunisian Football Federation.
In 1921, the Tunisian Football Association League was established, which is the Tunisian branch of the French Football Federation, which was relied upon until the declaration of independence in 1956.
On 29 March 1957, the Tunisian Football Federation, the official federation organizing football tournaments in Tunisia, was established.
The Tunisian championship has been professional since 1994 after the founding of the Ligue Nationale du Football Professionnel, becoming the first professional championship in Africa and the Arab world. Espérance Sportive de Tunis is the most crowned Tunisian with 31 titles, the last of which was the 2020–21 season.
4. Algeria Ligue Professionelle 1
It was known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs.
The league is contested by 16 clubs, and it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Ligue 2. In 2009 it was known as Championnat d’Algérie D1 Nedjma and from 2010 to 2014, it was known as Ligue Professionnelle 1 Nedjma as it is sponsored by Kuwaiti telecommunications company Nedjma.
5. South Africa Premier Soccer League
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is a national sports association responsible for administering the two professional football divisions in South Africa: the DSTV Premiership and GladAfrica Championship.
The PSL was created following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnants of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).
The association acts as a governing body and competition organiser. The PSL is affiliated to the South African Football Association (SAFA) but SAFA does not govern the PSL competitions.
The National First Division (NFD) is the second-highest league of South African club soccer. Teams that are relegated from the PSL organised divisions compete in the SAFA Second Division.
6. Dr Congo Linafoot
The Vodacom Ligue 1 is the top division of the Congolese Association Football Federation, the governing body of football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It was created in 1958. In 2013, the highest attendance was set in the match DC Motema Pembe – AS Vita Club, which saw an attendance of 80,000 football fans at Stade des Martyrs. TP Mazembe is the most successful club with 18 titles.
In 2010 the competition was renamed the Vodacom Super League following the signing of a five-year sponsorship deal with communications company Vodacom.
7. Angola Girabola
Girabola or Campeonato Nacional de Futebol em Séniores Masculinos, is the top division of Angolan football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation
8. Sudan Premier League
This is the top division of the Sudan Football Association, it was created in 1965.
9.Guinea Ligue 1 Pro
This is the top division of the Guinean Football Federation, it was created in 1965.
10. Tanzania Ligi Kuu Bara
This is the top-level professional football league in Tanzania and is administered by the Tanzania Football Federation. The league was formed in 1965 as the “National League”. Its name was later changed to the “First Division Soccer League”, and to the “Premier League” in 1997.
11. Libyan Premier League
This is the men’s top professional football division of the Libyan football league system. Administered by the Competition Organizing Committee in the Libyan Football Federation, Libyan Premier League is contested by 24 teams divided into two groups of 12, with the two lowest-placed teams of each group relegated to the First Division.
12. The Nigeria Professional Football League
This is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindling fortunes since the late 2000s.
It is fed into by the Nigeria National League (NNL). It is organised by the League Management Company (LMC).
It was formerly known as the Nigerian Premier League for the second time, as of the 2012/2013 Season from the 2003/2004 Season; “Nigerian Premiership” (2000–2003); “Nigerian Premier League”, first time (1993–2000); “Nigerian Professional League” (1990–1993); Nigerian National League – First Division (1979–1990) and “the (Nigerian) National League” or “Nigerian Football League” (1972–1979),
13. Zambia Super League
The Zambia Super League, also known as MTN/FAZ Super Division due to sponsorship reasons is the top division of the Football Association of Zambia.
It was created in 1962. The 2020–21 Zambian Super League is the most recent season.
The top 4 of the league will qualify for continental football, with the top 2 qualifying for the group stage qualifiers of the CAF Champions League. The third and fourth positioned teams will qualify for the group stage qualifiers of the CAF Confederation Cup.
14. Cameroon Elite One
The Championnat du Cameroun de football (also known as MTN Elite One since 2007 for sponsorship reasons) is the top division of association football in Cameroon, governed by the Cameroonian Football Federation since its establishment in 1961.
15. Senegal Premier League
Senegal Premier League is the top division of the Senegal Football Association, it was founded in 1966. The league also hosts a domestic cup, the Coupe de la Ligue. Football clubs from the Senegal Premier League also compete for the Senegal FA Cup.
16. Cote d’Ivoire Ligue 1
The Ivory Coast MTN Ligue 1 is the top division of the Ivorian Football Federation. It was created in 1960.
17. Botswana BTC Premiership
The Botswana Premier League, currently known as the BTC Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level football league in Botswana. Organised by the Botswana Football Association, the league was formed in 1978 to replace the pre-independence Bechuanaland Union African Soccer League, which was regional. 16 teams participate in the league
18. Kenya FKF Premier League
The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men’s association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Football Federation but is now controlled by the Football Kenya Federation. It is contested by 18 clubs and operates on a promotion and relegation system with the Kenyan National Super League.
19. Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association. It was founded in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League. It is currently sponsored by Delta Beverages under the Castle Lager brand and hence is known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League. The current sponsorship deal runs from 2011 and is worth $3.6 million. The league consists of 18 teams listed below, that play a total of 34 matches
20. Eswatini Premier League
The Premier League of Eswatini, also known as the MTN Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Eswatini Football Association. It was created in 1971 and plans to be a fully professional entity by 2022
