Cape Verdean football clubs have participated in African football competitions since 1992, when Sporting Praia took part in the African Club of Championships Clubs. Six Cape Verdean clubs have participated in African competitions, and only one SC Atlético was disqualified as the federation did not name their entrant on time. Only Sporting, Boavista, and Travadores, the top three of Praia, competed more than once in its competitions, of which Sporting and Travadores are the only ones who competed more than once at the championships and Boavista in two of its continental competitions. The biggest success was the first round of continental championships, Sporting in 1992, Boavista in 1996 and Sporting again in 2008.
The last Cape Verdean club appeared at CAF competitions in 2009; due to financial concerns and minimal scheduling difficulties, neither club qualified for the CAF Champions League. Never any Cape Verdean club competed at the CAF Confederation Cup, founded in 2004 after the merger of the CAF Cup Winners' Cup and the CAF Cup. Even though the Cape Verdean Cup was held in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2012, neither club qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup due to financial problems.
Cape Verde has recently become one of the African nations that had the least participation at the CAF competitions; one of the nations such as Chad, who first competed nearly the same time in the 1990s, has more presentations at CAF Competitions than Cape Verde. One example that Cape Verde has more appearances at the CAF competitions is they have more than São Tomè and Príncipe.
No recent announcement has been made for the national champion to compete in the 2018 CAF Champions League.
Appearances in CAF competitions
edit| CAF Champions League | CAF Confederation Cup (includes CAF Cup Winners' Cup) |
CAF Cup | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sporting Praia | 5 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |||
| CD Travadores | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Boavista Praia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| Académica do Sal | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| FC Derby | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| CS Mindelense | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
African Cup of Champions Clubs/CAF Champions League
edit| Season | Club | Round | Opponent | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round |  Port Autonome (Dakar)
|
0–0 | 0–0 (3–1 p.) |
| First Round |  Club Africain
|
0–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 1993 | CS Mindelense | Preliminary Round | ASEC Ndiambour
|
1–1 | 2–1 |
| 1994 | Académica do Sal | Preliminary Round |  SONADER Ksar
|
0–0 | 2–0 |
| 1995 | CD Travadores | Preliminary Round |  Real de Banjul
|
0–0 | 1–0 |
| 1996 | Boavista FC | Preliminary Round | ASC Sonalec
|
canc. | canc. |
| First Round |  JS Kabylie
|
1–2 | 2–0 | ||
| 1997 | CD Travadores | Preliminary Round | USM Alger
|
1–3 | 6–1 |
| 2000 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round |  AS Tempête Mocaf
|
2–3 | 0–1 (a) |
| 2001 | FC Derby | Preliminary Round | Real Banjul
|
0–0 | 1–0 |
| 2007 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round |  Fello Star
|
0–1 | w/o2 |
| 2008 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round |  FAR Rabat
|
0–3 | 3–0 (5–4 p) |
| First Round |  Inter Luanda
|
2–1 | 0–1 (a) | ||
| 2009 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round | FAR Rabat
|
0–6 | 1–0 |
African (CAF) Cup Winner's Cup/CAF Confederation Cup
edit| Season | Club | Round | Opponent | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Sporting Praia | Preliminary Round |  Gazelle FC
|
2–5 | w/o1 |
CAF Cup
edit| Season | Club | Round | Opponent | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | CD Travadores | First Round | ASC Air Mauritanie
|
0–0 | 0–0 |
| 1994 | Boavista Praia | First Round |  Diamond Stars
|
1–4 | 3–1 |
| 1995 | SC Atlético | First Round | ES Sahel
|
dq1 | |
- 1 SC Atlético was disqualified as the federation did not name its entrant in time
- 1 Sporting Praia withdrew
- 2 Sporting Praia withdrew due to the Guinean Civil War that was taking place that year