At least nine African teams will participate in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed on Tuesday.
Infantino said this during the opening of the 46th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ordinary General Assembly in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday.
Leaders and representatives of member associations from all over Africa came together as a result.
“There will be nine or ten African countries (and regions) competing in the World Cup in 2026,” Infantino stated.
The increase will be made in accordance with FIFA’s expanded World Cup structure, he said.
Infantino called on African nations to increase their investment in and development of the continent’s youth football talent.
“Those kids, those girls and boys, will be the stars of tomorrow, so I urge all of you to keep investing in youth football,” he said.
FIFA is also thinking about expanding the number of African teams competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup to six, the president said.
In addition, he mentioned that Morocco will host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, making it the second African country to do so after South Africa.
Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie made a plea to CAF to support Ethiopia’s ambition to host the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2029) tournament at the Assembly’s inaugural session.
Even if many players with African ancestry are helping non-African countries win the coveted football trophy, Atske Selassie acknowledged the necessity of bringing the World Cup trophy to African land.
“The scaling up of the collective efforts is the key to elevating the football sport and nurturing young talent.”
“African football can flourish and take its proper place on the international scene with this foundational talent in place,” Atske Selassie stated.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe wished Ethiopia well in its quest to organize AFCON 2029 and urged the Ethiopian government and the football organization to collaborate closely in order to make prompt judgments about Ethiopia’s proposal submission.
“We are thrilled to learn that Ethiopia plans to propose to host the AFCON 2029.
“What occurs in Ethiopia and other parts of the continent is what makes football successful. In some nations, we have success.
“We are not successful in others,” he continued.
The 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly was attended by former African football stars El-Hadji Diouf, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Samuel Eto’o, among others. (NAN/Xinhua)
