Football in Benin

Governing body| Benin Football Federation
National team(s)| national football team

Club competitions

Benin Premier League

International competitions

Champions League
CAF Confederation Cup
Super Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA World Cup(National Team)
African Cup of Nations(National Team)

Young motivated Beninese player

Association football, or soccer, is the most popular sport in Benin. Governed by the Benin Football Federation, the Benin national football team (Les Ecureuils ) joined both FIFA and CAF in 1969 as Dahomey.[1][2] Dahomey became Benin in 1975.

## Les Ecureuils

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Les Ecureuils (The Squirrels, as the national squad is nicknamed) have never qualified for the World Cup and made their only appearance in the African Cup of Nations in 2004.[3][4] They enjoyed their highest world ranking as of September 2007 with a rank of 79th in the world. The home stadium is Stade de l'Amitié in Cotonou. In the 2010s, the national team nickname was changed to the Cheetahs.[5]

## Notable Beninese footballers

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* Romuald Boco
* Laurent D'Jaffo
* Moussa Latoundji
* Stéphane Sessègnon[6]
* Rudy Gestede

## Football stadiums in Benin

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The Stade de l'Amitié is currently the largest stadium by capacity in Benin. It is used by the national football team of Benin.

# | Stadium | City | Capacity | Tenants | Image

|
|
|
|
|

1 | Stade de l'Amitié | Cotonou | 20,000 | Benin national football team |
2 | Stade Charles de Gaulle | Porto-Novo | 15,000 | AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé |
3 | Stade René Pleven d'Akpakpa | Cotonou | 15,000 | Requins de l'Atlantique FC |

## See also

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* Lists of stadiums

## References

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1. ^ "Benin: with voodoo on our side - Balls to Africa". FourFourTwo. 2010-06-07. Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
2. ^ Ph.D, Toyin Falola; Jean-Jacques, Daniel (14 December 2015). Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598846669. Retrieved 22 November 2016 – via Google Books.
3. ^ "Benin's nickname change from Squirrels to Cheetahs awaits approval". The Star.
4. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Benin enjoying historic moment among big guns". CAFOnline.com.
5. ^ "No more Squirrels: Benin football team change their nickname to Cheetahs". The Guardian. August 22, 2022.
6. ^ "Stéphane Sessègnon back with the cheetahs and raring to go". FIFA. Retrieved 21 May 2023.

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Football in Benin

Benin Football Federation

National teams|

| Men|

* National team
* Olympic (U-23)
* U-20
* U-17

|

Women|

* National team
* U-20
* U-17

League system|

| Men|

* Benin Premier League

|

Women|

* Benin W-Championship

Domestic cups|

| Men|

* Benin Cup
* Benin Super Cup

|

Awards|

* Footballer of the Year
* Top scorers

Lists|

* All-time Table
* Champions
* Clubs
* International footballers
* Foreign players
* Venues

* Men's clubs
* Women's clubs
* Men's players
* Women's players
* Expatriate players
* Managers
* Referees
* Venues
* Seasons
* Records

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Football in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

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