Congo

The Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, is one of African football's best kept secrets. The Diables Rouges stunned the continent by winning the 1972 AFCON in Cameroon, and two years later CARA of Brazzaville won the African Cup of Champions Clubs, proving the country of the two riverbanks knew how to win. The league has been played since 1961 and is historically dominated by the capital's clubs, Étoile du Congo, Diables Noirs and CARA, with the eternal rivalry against the giant neighbour across the river, DR Congo, seasoning everything. In a country of fewer than six million people, football remains the lingua franca from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire.