Member Association Focus: Central African Republic
Our weekly member association focus falls on the Central African Republic, a member of the Confédération Africaine de Football since 1968.
NATIONAL TEAM
The Central African Republic qualified for their first major tournament when they shocked Cameroon in the preliminaries to reach the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Nations Championship, which will be hosted in East Africa in August. They won on the away goals rule despite having to play their home leg on neutral territory, scoring a dramatic last gasp winner in the away leg in Bafoussam last month. In the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which ended in November, ‘Les Fauves de Bas-Oubangui’ lost five of their six matches and finished bottom of Group B, behind Morocco, Gabon and Lesotho. In March, they continue their bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Group I fixtures against Madagascar and Mali. The women of the Central African lost to Mali over two legs in the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2024.
CLUBS
Olympic Real Bangui were the last club from the Central African Republic to participate in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League but were eliminated in the first round of the 2022-23 edition by Vipers of Uganda. No club from the country has yet qualified to play in the group phase of the competition with the best performance by a club from the country in continental club competition coming 50 years ago in1975 when Tempete Mocaf reached the quarter-final of the old-style African Cup Winners’ Cup. Anges de Fatima were the last Central African Republic club to enter the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup, but were eliminated in the first round by Daring Club Motema Pembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
LEADERSHIP
Célestin Yanindji was elected as president of the Central African Republic Football Federation in 2020 after more than a decade serving as vice president. He is the former president of the DFC 8ème Arrondissement club and served as minister of finance in his country’s government.
HISTORY
The Central African Republic came close to qualification for the 2023 Cup of Nations finals but a loss in their last qualifier in Ghana meant they finished narrowly behind the Black Stars and Angola in their group. They were also in the running in the qualifiers for the 2017 finals but lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo away in what was an effective shootout for top place in the group and a slot at the finals in Gabon. When the Central African Republic first entered the Cup of Nations qualifiers for the 1974 finals, they upset Cote d’Ivoire 4-2 in the first leg of their knockout tie but were disqualified in the return match.