Which is the best football league in Africa? It's a question that many do not have the answer to due to how African football is generally viewed.
When most onlookers think about African football, they think about the talents that have been produced and exported from Africa into Europe mainly.
They think about the likes of Didier Drogba, Samuel, Eto’o, Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Osimhen, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and the like.
Other times they think about the great national team squads that have come and gone like the 2010 Ghana World Cup team or the 2022 Morocco World Cup team or the Super Eagles of the early 1990s. Rarely do onlookers think about the Leagues themselves.
The growth of African football and the domestic leagues in recent times has been great with certain regions progressing faster than others.
The entire continent is yet to catch up in its totality but there are some Leagues that boast of high quality teams that play top football .
Best football league in Africa
Botola Pro (Morocco)
The Botola Professional football League is our number one on this list. The top division in Moroccan football consists of 16 teams who will compete for the championship as well as battle to survive in the League.
Four clubs in this League are eligible to play Continental football as top two teams will qualify for the CAF Champions League while the third-placed team and the Coupe De Trone winner will play in the CAF Confederations Cup. The two lowest-ranked teams will be relegated to Botola 2. The current champions are AS Far.
Egyptian Premier League (Egypt)
Our second-ranked League is the Egyptian Premier League. The league which is also known as the Nile League has been one of the top African football Leagues for a very long time which boasts of the most successful club in Continental competition and the reigning CAF Champions League winners, Al Ahly.
The Egyptian League consists of 18 teams in a single division with the top two making the CAF Champions League whole. The third-placed team makes the Confederations Cup. The three lowest-ranked teams are relegated to the lower division.
The current champions of the Egyptian Premier League are Al Ahly.
Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (Algeria)
The Algerian League, which is the third-ranked League on this list consists of 16 teams in the top division. The top two teams qualify for the CAF Champions League while the third-placed team qualify for the CAF Confederations Cup.
The current CAF Confederations Cup winners, USM Alger play in this league. The current Algerian champions are CR Belouizdad.
The South African Premier Division (South Africa)
One of the more televised and famous Leagues in Africa, the DSTV Premiership, as it is also known is one of the top Leagues not only in terms of presentation but quality as well.
There are 16 teams competing in this League with the top two among those playing in the CAF Champions League while the third-ranked team plays in the CAF Confederations Cup. The current champions of the division are Mamelodi Sundowns.
Tunisian Ligue 1 (Tunisia)
The Tunisian League comes fifth on this list. It's a division that consists of 14 teams, with the first two teams eligible to play in the CAF Champions League, while the third-ranked team will secure automatic qualification to play in the CAF Confederations Cup.
The reigning champions of this League are Etoile Du Sahel while Espérance De Tunis have won the most League titles with 32 to their name.
Tanzanian Premier League (Tanzania)
The Tanzanian Premier League is the second league that isn't in North Africa on this list of best football league in Africa.
They have a total of 16 teams in the division with the top two teams in the League playing in the CAF Champions League and the third-placed team in the Confederations Cup.
Young Africans are the reigning Champions as well as the Club that has lifted the TPL trophy the most times.
Girabola (Angola)
The Angolan top division rounds up this list of countries with the best football league in Africa.
The league consists of 16 teams with the top three teams qualifying for the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup respectively. The three lowest-ranked teams in the division will suffer relegation as well.
Petro De Luanda are the current champions of Girabola with Petro Atletico’s 17 title wins the most of any club in the division.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago