African Club Association Launches Membership Registration to Elevate African Club Football

The African Club Association has launched its membership registration. The ACA was created by the Confederation Africaine de Football, thanks to President Patrice Motsepe. Motsepe hosted a meeting with club presidents and chairpersons to announce its formation. It was launched on 30 November 2023, when the first ACA meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt. The first and current chairman of the ACA is Hersi A. Said from Tanzanian club Young Africans.

The ACA is an organization open to clubs across all fifty four CAF member associations. The annual membership fee is SD 1,000 per club. The mission of ACA is to professionalize African club football, ensuring that clubs on the continent reach greater heights across the globe. It seeks to protect the interests of African football clubs, enhance commercial visibility to improve financial stability and attract investment, and help clubs develop their infrastructure and facilities, including building stadiums that meet CAF and FIFA standards across Africa.

The ACA also aims to develop youth talent by supporting the establishment of strong academies that improve player development across the continent. This will help clubs within and outside Africa to identify talent and create a professional pathway for academy players to progress into the first team. In addition, the ACA focuses on ensuring professional club administration, improving governance, promoting fair play and safeguarding integrity in African club competitions. It provides a unified platform through which African clubs can influence continental football policy, preventing clubs from operating in isolation and encouraging coordinated strategies, representation and collaboration.

The ACA has already begun to make an impact. One of its early successes is securing increased financial support for clubs participating in CAF competitions, including entry fees for preliminary stages, support fees and increased prize money for CAF club tournaments. The ACA has also become a strong voice for clubs both symbolically and legally. It reached an agreement with CAF to work together as partners in an official and structured manner, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The ACA has come to stay. Its influence will help raise the standard of African club football and give it a global outlook. This will attract more investors, improve the quality of CAF competitions and support the continued growth of African clubs across the continent.