Africa's historic performance at the 2026 World Cup dominated trade on the second day of the African Confederation of Football (CAF) Strategic Conference on Thursday, 8 October, in Santa Maria, Cape Verde. Patrice Motsepe, Gianni Infantino, Janira Hopffer Almada and Mario Semedo stressed the need to transform these results into sustainable progress through targeted investments, training and strengthening of African football structures.
Patrice Motsepe demands concrete results
The president of the CAF, Patrice Motsepe, placed the development of the 54 member associations at the heart of his speech. For him, the ambitions displayed by the governing bodies must now be translated into concrete actions and measurable results.
" There is a big gap between good projects, good intentions and what we do in concrete terms in terms of investments and results. We are judged on our results," he said.
The South African leader stressed the need to advance all national associations beyond the performance of the most competitive selections. He also reaffirmed the ambition to see an African nation win the World Cup one day.
"We must win the World Cup. We're gonna win the World Cup. One of the African nations will win the World Cup," he said, calling on the continent to turn its potential into tangible success.
Janira Hopffer Almada focuses on structures and women
The head of the state of Cape Verde, Janira Hopffer Almada, presented her country's journey as an example of the role played by work, discipline and organisation in sporting success.
" A talent without structure cannot produce lasting results," she recalled, stressing the importance of developing systems capable of training and accompanying players in the long term.
She also stressed the role of women in the development of football. In her view, the continent's ambitions must be accompanied by increased participation of women at all levels: players, coaches, referees, doctors, journalists and leaders.
His intervention thus broadened the reflection beyond performance on the ground, highlighting issues of governance, training and equal access to responsibilities.
Gianni Infantino highlights the progress of African football
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also highlighted the results of African selections at the 2026 World Championship. Of the ten representatives of the continent, nine have reached the phase of direct elimination, an unprecedented collective performance for Africa;
Infantino stressed that this increase should be accompanied by investments in infrastructure, coaching and competitions to enable young talent to develop.
" The opportunities of a child should not be limited by their place of birth," he said, arguing for wider access to facilities and training pathways.
FIFA's boss also mentioned the progress made in infrastructure enabling African selections to play their international home matches. The objective, he said, is that each country can receive its opponents on its own territory.
Mario Semedo calls for further dialogue
For Mario Semedo, president of the Cape Verdean Football Federation, this conference provides an opportunity to share experiences and strengthen cooperation between member associations.
He welcomed the CAF's initiative, believing that dialogue among African football leaders can help to create ideas and strategies tailored to the realities of each country.
In particular, the Cape Verdean leader wanted delegates to go back with concrete proposals that could be implemented in their respective federations.
Towards the 2030 World Cup
Beyond speeches, the challenge of this conference is to transform the lessons of the 2026 World Championship into a roadmap for the development of African football. Investment, coach training, infrastructure, women's football and the strengthening of federations are among the priorities mentioned in the exchanges.
The next step will be to translate these ambitions into sustainable policies, capable of strengthening local competitions and improving the preparation of national selections. By 2030, the goal is to make the historical performance of 2026 a starting point rather than an isolated success.
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