Africa needs a long-term Fifa World Cup plan
There’s a general belief that Africa’s chances of doing well in a World Cup are diminished because the continent only has five slots.
However, Africa is likely to have nine countries taking part in the expanded 48-team tournament in 2026, but this may not be the answer.
In Qatar, hosts of the 2022 World Cup, Africa has again showed not much improvement. More slots in the tournament will please most in the continent, but more numbers will not guarantee a great outcome.
The African teams in Qatar are the best Africa has to offer, with Senegal, Morocco and Tunisia ranked first, second and third respectively in the continent but only three countries from Africa have managed to reach the quarterfinals since 1930.
The long-term vision would be to have sound youth development structures but for a start Africa must do better in preparing for the World Cup and have realistic expectations. Cameroon, for example, had their FA president Samuel Eto’o predicting ahead of this year’s tournament that they would reach the final and contest it against Morocco.
Other factors at play could be how the national teams are managed. Morocco coach Walid Regragui was put in charge late in August, less than three months before the tournament kicked off.
Meanwhile, Rigobert Song of Cameroon has been at the helm since March 1, giving him about eight months to work on the team. The same goes for Ghana. Otto Addo was appointed in February this year. To put this in context, Germany’s Joachim Low had been in charge for 10 years (since 2004) by the time they won the World Cup in 2014.