Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is the most popular sport in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, The
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
(m) qualified for the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
in Germany and many Angolan footballers play internationally, particularly in Portugal and France.
Organized games of women's football teams have been known in Angola since 1993, and since 1995, Campeonato Provincial de Luanda has had a league operation in Angola, albeit limited to the province of Luanda.
The top male national league is the
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.
The league winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League.
Gira ...
.
Women's football in Angola is generally suffering from a lack of attention, also through associations and clubs. As a result, there are hardly any multi-faceted league structures, and due to the lack of youth classes, it is not uncommon for 12-year-old girls and almost 40-year-old women to meet in the same game. Due to a lack of training opportunities for women, there is the threat of an over-aging, and thus to an end to women's football in Angola.
Angola was a Portuguese colony since the late 15th century, and so it was the Portuguese who popularized football there. Football in Angola is still shaped by its Portuguese origins and relationships, for example through a number of affiliates of the Portuguese clubs Benfica Lisbon and Sporting Lisbon
The national football association of Angola is the Federação Angolana de Futebol (FAF). It was founded in 1979, after Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975. The FAF organizes the national football leagues Girabola (1st league) and Gira Angola (2nd league) and is also responsible for the Angolan national team of men and women.
The country hosted the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
League and Cup System
There is currently no women's league in Angola. For the history of championship tournaments see
Angolan Women's Football League.
The first national women's club championship took place in 1999, as a tournament in the city of Lubango. The title went to the Blocos FC from the capital Luanda. Since 2005, a regular national championship is being organized by the FAF. The champion of the Luanda provincial championship, the Progresso do Sambizanga, have dominated the women's football Angola with five nationwide titles since that time. In addition to Progresso, the club Amigas dos Mártires de Kifangondo Luanda is one of the strongest teams, although with an ultimately unsuccessful appearance at the national championship tournament in Luena in 2008. The only other competitive teams are Regedoria FC de Viana, and the Clube Desportivo da Terra Nova. Terra Nova is the only club with both a second team and a football school for young women. Apart from these, four clubs remain. The other clubs lack structure, and even talented players often have no chance to progress.
Overall, championships are being held in only three Angolan provinces: in the provinces of Cunene, Huíla, and especially in Luanda. Occasionally, tournaments will also take place in the other provinces, especially in the provinces of Bié, Benguela and Cabinda.
The national championship (Campeonato Nacional) has always been played in each case in a central tournament, but was not aligned every year. Since 2011, no master has been played. The following national championships have been played in women's football Angola so far.
At least since 1965, a national champion is played by men in Angola in a league operation. The record champion during the time of Portuguese occupation was 1953-founded club Atlético de Luanda, holding the championship title in years 1965, 66, 67 and 68. In post-occupation Angola, the Girabola top national league is being played since 1979, and a second, three-track nationwide league, the Gira Angola, is held as well. These leagues include the top league of the provincial associations of the 18 provinces of Angola, among which the other regional leagues are played.
Today, the
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.
The league winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League.
Gira ...
still is the top division of Angolan
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. It is organized by the
Angolan Football Federation
The Angolan Football Federation ( pt, Federação Angolana de Futebol, FAF) is the governing body of football in Angola. It was founded in 1979, and affiliated to FIFA and to CAF in 1980. It organizes the national football league Girabola and t ...
.
Men's National team
The national team competed in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2006. During
qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
, Angola won group 4 over
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
,
Algeria
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, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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, capital = Algiers
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and
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
. The team was placed in
Group D Group D may refer to:
* FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars:
** Formula Two
** Formula Three
** Formula 3000
* One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup
** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D
** 2018 FIFA World ...
along with
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. They finished with 0 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, they made 3rd place in the group. They did not advance past group play.
On 4 September 2006, the African Football Association CAF announced that the Africa Cup 2010 will be awarded to Angola. An extra four new stadiums have been built for the African Championship: the 50,000-seat Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda, the 35,000-seat Estádio Nacional de Ombaka in Benguela and the Estádio Nacional de Chiazi in Cabinda and the Estádio Nacional da Tundavala in Lubango, respectively Accommodate 20,000 spectators.
In the group draw Mali, Algeria and Malawi were assigned to Group A. Angola was set as the host group head of this group.
Women's national team
Best rank in the
FIFA Rankings
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...
for the
national football teams was 82nd place in December 2003. In July 2022, they were ranked at 140th place. The only tournaments they qualified for were the
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
and
2002 African Women's Championships, and their best finish was as semi-finalists in the 1995 tournament.
Angola finished the
African Championship An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
List of Championships
;Athletics
*African Championships in Athl ...
third place in 1995. Angola also qualified for the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
in 2002, where they beat
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, but lost to
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
by one goal. Since then, Angola has not qualified for any other championships.
During qualification for the
2008 Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
, Angola did not advance further than the first round, where they lost to
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. However, they did reach the final of the COSAFA Cup, where they met South Africa, who beat them 3–1.
At the
2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations qualification Angola faced Botswana and lost 1-5 and 2-0.
References
{{Angola topics