Football in Guinea

Football in Guinea
CountryGuinea
Governing bodyGuinean Football Federation
National team(s)national football team
Club competitions
International competitions

Football is the most popular sport in the country of Guinea.[1] It is run by the Guinean Football Federation.[2] The association administers the national football team, as well as the national league.[1] It was founded in 1960 and affiliated with FIFA since 1962[3] and with the Confederation of African Football since 1963.[4]

The Guinea national football team, nicknamed Syli nationale (National Elephants), have played international football since 1962.[1] Their first opponent was East Germany.[1] They have yet to reach a World Cup final, but they were runners-up to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976.[1]

Guinée Championnat National is the top division of Guinean football. Since it was established in 1965, three teams have dominated in winning the Guinée Coupe Nationale.[5] Horoya AC leads with 16 titles. Hafia FC (known as Conakry II in 1960s) is second with 15 titles having dominated in 1960s and 70s, but the last coming in 1985. Third with 13 is AS Kaloum Star, known as Conakry I in the 1960s. All three teams are based in the capital, Conakry. No other team has more than five titles.

The 1970s were a golden decade for Guinean football. Hafia FC won the African Cup of Champions Clubs three times, in 1972, 1975 and 1977, while Horoya AC won the 1978 African Cup Winners' Cup.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e Falola, Toyin; Jean-Jacques, Daniel (14 December 2015). Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society. ABC-CLIO. pp. 568–569. ISBN 9781598846669. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  2. ^ "At a glance: Guinea - Football boosts girls' education". UNICEF. Archived from the original on 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
  3. ^ "Associations: Guinea". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008.
  4. ^ "Member Associations: Fédération Guinéenne de Football (FGF)". Confederation of African Football.
  5. ^ "Guinea: List of champions". RSSSF.
  6. ^ Kuhn, Gabriel (15 March 2011). Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics. PM Press. p. 33. ISBN 9781604865240.[permanent dead link‍]