Africa’s record representation at the 2026 World Cup will come under scrutiny when the continent’s football leaders gather in Cape Verde tomorrow to chart the road towards 2030.
Although nine of Africa’s 10 representatives reached the knockout stages, only Morocco advanced to the quarter-finals, leaving CAF with both progress to celebrate and shortcomings to address.
The three-day CAF Strategy Conference runs from October 7–9 in Santa Maria on Sal Island, bringing together presidents of the confederation’s 54 member associations, national-team coaches and international experts.
Convened under CAF president Patrice Motsepe, the meeting will examine how improvements in coaching, player development and football administration can produce stronger performances internationally.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is expected to attend, while Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, will lead a discussion involving several coaches from Africa’s World Cup campaign.
They include Morocco’s Mohamed Ouahbi, Cape Verde’s Bubista, Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and DR Congo’s Sébastien Desabre.
Progress and a familiar ceiling
The expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico gave Africa its largest contingent, doubling the continent’s representation from the 2022 tournament.
Morocco, Egypt, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, DR Congo and Algeria survived the group stage. Tunisia were the only African side eliminated.
South Africa and Ivory Coast reached the knockout stages for the first time, while Cape Verde achieved the feat on their World Cup debut.
However, the continent’s numbers thinned sharply in the round of 32, where 7 African teams were eliminated.
South Africa lost 1-0 to Canada, Ivory Coast fell 2-1 to Norway and DR Congo were beaten 2-1 by England.
Senegal lost 3-2 to Belgium, Algeria went down 2-0 to Switzerland, Ghana suffered a 1-0 defeat against Colombia and Cape Verde lost 3-2 to Argentina.
Egypt beat Australia on penalties before losing 3-2 to Argentina in the last 16.
Morocco overcame the Netherlands in a shoot-out and defeated Canada 3-0, but their campaign ended with a 2-0 quarter-final loss to France.
Those results offer a more demanding measure of Africa’s progress than qualification for the first knockout round alone.
The continent secured unprecedented participation and widespread group-stage success, but only 2 teams reached the last 16 and none made the semi-finals.
A long journey
Africa’s World Cup story began with Egypt in 1934, but the continent waited until Tunisia’s 3-1 victory over Mexico in 1978 for its first tournament win.
Morocco then became the first African team to advance beyond the group stage in 1986, finishing ahead of England, Poland and Portugal.
Cameroon raised the standard in 1990, reaching the quarter-finals after a campaign inspired by Roger Milla that included victory over defending champions Argentina.
Senegal matched that achievement on their debut in 2002, followed by Ghana at the first African-hosted World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Morocco finally broke the quarter-final barrier in Qatar in 2022, becoming Africa’s first semi-finalists and finishing fourth. That remains the continent’s best performance.
The Cape Verde meeting consequently comes at a point where African football must assess how to turn a broader presence into more sustained success.
Wenger’s panel will allow coaches to examine their campaigns, while the wider conference will address coaching education, technical development, licensing and investment.
Women’s and youth national-team coaches are also expected to participate, connecting senior-team ambitions with the systems responsible for developing future players.
The task is to ensure that the next campaign delivers more than additional qualifiers.
The lessons from 2026 must help African teams progress deeper into the tournament and strengthen the football structures supporting them.