Rabat – Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has set an ambitious target for the continent, insisting that an African national team must eventually win the FIFA World Cup.
Speaking Thursday at the CAF Strategy Conference in Santa Maria on Sal Island, Cape Verde, Motsepe said Africa has already shown its teams can compete with the world’s strongest nations and should now aim for football’s biggest prize.
“We know how good we are, and the world has seen how good we are,” Motsepe said. “We have to win the World Cup one day. An African nation has to win the World Cup.”
The three-day conference, running from October 7 to 9, brings together presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, national team coaches, technical leaders and international football experts to discuss the future of the game across the continent.
CAF targets further progress after 2026 World Cup
Africa entered the conference following its strongest collective World Cup showing.
A record 10 African countries competed at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with nine reaching the knockout stages. CAF has analyzed those performances as one of the central themes of the meeting as it begins planning toward the 2030 World Cup.
Motsepe also called for African football structures to continue improving, including national federations, administration and refereeing.
CAF grants to its 54 member associations have increased from just over $200,000 to around $700,000, according to SABC, although Motsepe stressed that greater investment must ultimately produce stronger results and world-class football structures.
He also reiterated CAF’s backing for FIFA President Gianni Infantino ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Motsepe said all 54 CAF member associations had unanimously decided to give Infantino “unconditional support,” citing FIFA’s contribution to African football. Infantino told delegates that FIFA had invested around $1 billion in Africa through 124 FIFA Forward projects over the past decade.
Motsepe confident in AFCON 2027 preparations
The CAF president has also continued to express confidence in preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Motsepe acknowledged challenges during recent inspection visits but maintained that CAF is committed to working with all three countries to deliver a successful tournament. The competition is scheduled to run from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
The strategy conference will continue on Friday, with FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger among those expected to lead discussions examining what African teams did well at the 2026 World Cup and what must improve before 2030.