CAF president Patrice Motsepe said on Sunday, June 28, that sustained investment in youth development, coaching, professional leagues, and infrastructure across Africa has translated into strong performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
His remarks followed a notable achievement in which nine of the 10 African qualifiers for the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico progressed to the knockout stage. Algeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa all reached the round of 32, with only Tunisia exiting after losing all three group matches.
Motsepe praised the governance reforms within CAF and credited collaboration with African governments and private partners for strengthening the continent’s football ecosystem. He noted that Africa recorded a 90% success rate in advancing from the group stage, the highest among FIFA’s continental regions, ahead of South America (83.33%) and Europe (81.25%).
The CAF president expressed optimism that African teams would continue to make the continent proud in the knockout rounds.
The report also highlighted Africa’s growing World Cup influence since the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams, which increased continental representation to nine slots. Morocco’s historic semi-final run in 2022 remains a benchmark, while Cape Verde’s strong showing in this edition has drawn particular attention after impressive results in Group H.