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CAF President praises African teams' World Cup success
🇲🇦 Morocco /Sports

CAF President praises African teams' World Cup success

From Hespress · () Arabic

Translated from Arabic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe praised the continent's success at the 2026 World Cup, where nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage.
  • Motsepe attributed this achievement to hard work, investment in youth, training, and infrastructure across CAF's 54 member associations.
  • Africa achieved a 90% qualification rate for the second round, the highest among FIFA's six continental confederations, with Morocco notably reaching the semifinals in 2022.

Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), lauded the continent's strong performance at the 2026 World Cup, where an unprecedented nine out of ten African nations advanced to the knockout stages. This success, he stated, is a direct result of dedicated efforts in youth development, training, professional leagues, and infrastructure improvements across CAF's 54 member associations.

Hard work and investment in youth football, training, professional tournaments, and infrastructure in all 54 member associations of the Confederation of African Football are paying off.

— Patrice MotsepePresident of CAF, explaining the reasons behind the success of African teams at the World Cup.

"Hard work and investment in youth football, training, professional tournaments, and infrastructure in all 54 member associations of the Confederation of African Football are paying off," Motsepe announced on Sunday. He congratulated the presidents and executive committees of the nine qualifying federations and thanked African governments for their support and cooperation. The CAF president also highlighted the positive impact of implementing best practices in governance, transparency, and financial oversight, which have attracted new sponsors and partners, fostering the growth of African football.

I congratulate the presidents of the nine member associations and their executive committees, and I thank the African governments for their cooperation and support.

— Patrice MotsepeAcknowledging the collective effort behind the teams' achievements.

Africa's 90% success rate in reaching the second round marks the highest among FIFA's six continental confederations, surpassing South America's 83.33% and Europe's 81.25%. This achievement underscores a significant rise in the quality and competitiveness of African football on the global stage. Motsepe expressed confidence that these national teams will continue to elevate the reputation of their countries and the continent.

The best practices in governance, transparency, and financial and accounting oversight that have been implemented have attracted new sponsors and partners, and contributed to the development and growth of African football.

— Patrice MotsepeAttributing success partly to improved administrative standards.

The article also references past successes, such as Morocco becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals in 2022. It highlights the journey of Cape Verde, a small island nation, which secured draws against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia to advance. The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams provided Africa with nine slots, a crucial factor in this year's high representation.

CAF wishes all nine national teams the best of luck, and we are confident that they will continue to raise the name of their countries and Africa high.

— Patrice MotsepeExpressing optimism for the teams' performance in the knockout stages.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hespress in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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