Football is the most popular sporting activity on the African continent right now and it is also a very profitable sporting event. Most African countries have their local football leagues and these leagues generate a lot of money in various ways for both the clubs and their players.
African football clubs are also some of the richest clubs in the world. Football is the most loved most watched and enjoyed sports across the African continent and African footballers are some of the richest in the world right now.
Football clubs generate a lot of money from sponsorship deals, selling kits, tickets, transfers, and trophies.
Football clubs generate a lot of money from sponsorship deals, selling kits, tickets, transfers, and trophies. In my other article, I wrote a list of the richest Nigerian football clubs but unfortunately, none of them was able to make this list of the richest African football clubs since these clubs had relatively low market values.
In this article, you will be giving you a list of the Richest Football Clubs In Africa: Top 10 · 1. Al Ahly – €29.55 million · 2. Mamelodi Sundowns FC – €27.30 million · 3. Zamalek SC – €20.58 million and so on. without wasting more time, let’s get the ball rolling.
Richest Football Clubs In Africa Right Now
1) Al-Ahly S.C.
- Home Country – Egypt
- Market Value – €19.25 Million
- League – Egyptian Premier League
Al-Ahly S.C which is often called Al-Ahly is a sporting club which is based in Cario Egypt. It is one of the most popular football clubs in Africa and it is well known for the kind of games they put up.
With over 100 years of active participation in African football, it is one of the most valuable sporting brands on the African continent. Al-Ahly is undoubtedly the richest club in Africa right now with a market value of around €19.25 Million.
Al-Ahly was founded on the 24th of April in the year 1907 and they have won over 109 trophies which include 41 national league titles, 36 national cups titles, and 11 national super cup titles making it the most decorated club in the whole of Egypt.
Other trophies that have been won by this club include 8 CAF Champions League titles, a CAF Confederation Cup title, a record 6 CAF Super Cup titles, a record 4 African Cup Winners’ Cup titles, an Afro-Asian Club Championship title, an Arab Club Champions Cup title, an Arab Cup Winners’ Cup title, a record 2 Arab Super Cup titles and a bronze medal in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.
Al-Ahly is also the second most successful club in the world in terms of international titles with 20 trophies behind Real Madrid which has 26 international trophies.
This club is also being sponsored by WE (a telecoms company in Egypt) and their kit is currently manufactured by Umbro. Other past sponsors of Al-Ahly S.C include Etisalat, Vodafone, Coca-Cola, and many others.
2) Mamelodi Sundowns F.C.
- Home Country – South Africa
- Market Value – €10.48 Million
- League – South African Premier Soccer League
Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. comes 5th on this list of the richest football clubs in Africa with an estimated market value of around €10.48 Million. This football club was founded in 1970 in Mamelodi, Tshwane, Gauteng, South Africa.
They’re one of the strongest clubs in the South African Premier Soccer League with Kaizer Chiefs as one of their most powerful rivals and have won their home league 9 times. Their kits are also currently being manufactures by Puma SE and they have many endorsement and sponsorship deals from top brands.
Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. has also won the CAF Champions League champions in 2016 and the same year, they won the CAF Club Of The Year award in the same year. They’ve also won the Nedbank Cup four times and are the 1st South African team to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup where they finished in 6th place.
3) Club Africain
- Home Country – Tunisia
- Market Value – €11.80 Million
- League – Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1
Club Africain is another Tunisian football club on this list of the richest African clubs. It is often called CA and was founded in 1920 in the capital city of Tunisia which is known as Tunis.
CA is one of the most popular clubs in Africa right now and they are ranked as the second-best club in Tunisia after Esperance Sportive De Tunis. It is a very successful club and they’ve won many local and international trophies since the club was established 99 years ago.
Trophies that have been won by Club Africain include 13 Tunisian League titles, 13 Tunsicna Cups, 3 Tunisian super cups, 2 North African Cup of Champions titles, 1 Arab Cup Winners’ Cup, 6 Arab Champions League titles, 1 Arab Super Cup, 1 African Cup of Champions Clubs amongst other titles.
4) Kaizer Chiefs F.C.
- Home Country – South Africa
- Market Value – €11.80 Million
- League – South African Premier Soccer League
Kaizer Chiefs F.C. is a top club in the South African Premier Soccer League and it was established on the 7th of January, 1970 in South Africa. The team is nicknamed Amakhosi which means “Lords” or “Chiefs” in Zulu and they currently play most of their home matches at Soccer City in Nasrec, Soweto, which is commonly also referred to as the FNB Stadium.
Although they’re faced by strong rivalry clubs like Orlando Pirates and others, Kaizer Chiefs Football Club remains one of the toughest teams when it comes to football in South Africa. They’re also one of the most supported clubs in the South African Premier Soccer League with an average home attendance of 14,873 in the 2018/2019 season.
This club is also one of the richest football clubs in Africa and they’re currently being sponsored by Vodacom. They also have deals with top brands like Nike (Kit manufacturer), Toyota (Vehicle sponsor), and Protours (Bus sponsor). These deals amongst others like kit sales, transfers, ticket sales, and others fetch them good amounts of money.
5) Esperance Sportive De Tunis
- Home Country – Tunisia
- Market Value – €12.75 Million
- League – Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1
Espérance Sportive de Tunis is a sporting club which is based in Tunis, Tunisia. This is not just a football club but fields other sports teams, which includes handball, and volleyball.
It is the 2nd richest club in Africa and has an estimated market value of around €12.75 Million. Esperance Sportive is the most popular club in Tunisia and right now, it is over a hundred years old (established on January 15th, 1919).
So far ES Tunis has 29 Tunisian League wins, 15 Tunisian Cups, and 4 Tunisian Supercups and at the international level, the club has 4 CAF Champions League titles. They also set the new Tunisian record in 2001 by winning the national title four years in a row, beating the previous record of three, set by Italia de Tunis in 1937.
6) Zamalek S.C
- Home Country – Egypt
- Market Value – €10.30 Million
- League – Egyptian Premier League
Zamalek is another Egyptian Club on this list of the richest clubs in Africa. It was established on 5 January 1911 as Qasr El Nile Club but its name was later changed to El Mokhtalat Club, King Farouk Club, and then to the current name – Zamalek F.C.
This club is currently based in the capital city of Giza in Egypt. Since its establishment in 1911, this club has been one of the most respected clubs in the Egyptian league and it is one of seven clubs that have never been relegated to the Egyptian Second Division.
Zamalek S.C has been one of the top contenders (if not winners) of the Egyptian Premier League title since it was created. Other of the most successful clubs in Africa.
They’re currently being sponsored by top brands like TE, Lactel, Oppo, JAC and have been sponsored by other brands like Philips, Pepsi, Prego, SAIB Bank, Hyundai in the past. Zamalek kits are also being manufactured by Puma.
7) USM Alger F.C.
- Home Country – Algeria
- Market Value – €9.65 Million
- League – Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1
Union sportive de la médina d’Alger which is often referred to as USM Alger or simply USMA for short is a football club based in the capital city of Algiers in Algeria. It was founded in 1937 and its home stadium – Omar Hamadi Stadium, has a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
It is one of the most popular Algerian football clubs and they have won the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 eight times since the club was created in 1937. Other trophies that have been won by USM Alger include 8 Algerian Cup titles and the 2 Algerian Super Cup titles and internationally has won the UAFA Club Championship once in 2013.
Their kits are currently being manufactured by Joma and Djezzy has been the club’s general sponsor from 2005 until 2019. Other shirt sponsors of USM Alger (past and present) include ETRHB Haddad, Kia Motors, Renault Trucks, Khalifa Group, Sonelgaz amongst others.
8) ES Setif F.C
- Home Country – Algeria
- Market Value – €8.6 Million
- League – Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1
Entente Sportive Sétifienne which is popularly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short is an Algerian professional football club based in Sétif, Algeria. It is one of the most successful clubs in Algeria having won the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 eight times and the Algerian Cup a record eight times.
They’re also one of only three Algerian clubs to have won the CAF Champions League, winning it twice in 1988 and 2014. ESS has also won the Arab Champions League twice, in 2007 and 2008, as well as three North African Cups in 2009 and 2010.
ES Setif is currently sponsored by KIA Motors & Ooredoo and has been sponsored by Djezzy GSM (Algeria’s largest telecom provider) in the past.
9) Raja Club Athletic
- Home Country – Morocco
- Market Value – €8.13 Million
- League – Moroccan Premier League (Botola)
Raja Club Athletic (Raja CA or RCA) is a sporting club with many sections (not just football) and it is based in Casablanca, Morocco. It was founded in 1940 and this club is one of the most successful football clubs in the Morrocan league.
The football section of Raja Club Athletic S.C was ranked by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as the third-best football club in Africa after Zamalek SC and Al Ahly SC. It is a very famous club in Africa and, with 16 trophies won since 2000, Raja CA is also the most successful Moroccan club of the 21st century.
Raja CA actual sponsors include Transatlas Sport Management, Siera Atlanta Assurance, Legea, Maroc Telecom, Hyundai, Marsa Maroc, Nor’Dar, Newmerique, Transatlas Sport Management, Western Union, Infinix Mobile Koutoubia, Junkers, and others. Their kits are also currently manufactured by Legea.
10) T.P Mazembe F.C
- Home Country – The Democratic Republic of Congo
- Market Value – €7.70 Million
- League – Vodacom Ligue 1 (Linafoot)
Tout Puissant Mazembe, which was formerly known as Englebert, is a Congolese football club based in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was established in 1939 by Benedictine monks of the order of Sanctimonious Saint that directed the Holy Institute Boniface of Élisabethville (Lubumbashi).
This club is one of the most successful clubs in D.R Congo with 36 national and international titles won and they are also the first Congolese club with 300,000 followers on Facebook, their main social media page.
They’re also the first Congolese football club to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup and they defeated the Internacional F.C of Brazil in the semifinals of the tournament. T.P Mazembe is one of the richest clubs in Africa and with an estimated market value of around €7.70 Million.
Market Value Source – Pulse.com.gh
