“Morocco opened the door by reaching the semi-finals this
month and I am confident an African nation will go further at the next World
Cup,” said the South African billionaire.
“The main objective of CAF (Confederation of African
Football) is for an African nation to win the World Cup and that goal is within
reach.”
There will be nine or 10 African qualifiers for an expanded
48-team 2026 World Cup in the United Stages, Canada and Mexico — up from five
in Qatar.
Morocco made history in Qatar by becoming the first African
representatives to reach the semi-finals.
The Atlas Lions stunned Belgium in the group stage, then
eliminated two more powerful European sides, Spain and Portugal, in the
knockout stage before losing to France in the semi-finals.
“There are at least 10 African nations that can compete at
the highest level and win the World Cup,” added Motsepe.
He also hailed Cameroon and Tunisia for shock group
victories over five-time World Cup winners Brazil and twice champions France
respectively.
“We should be proud of what Cameroon and Tunisia achieved.
These and other African countries must learn from Morocco,” said the CAF
president.
The shock victories were not enough to get Cameroon and
Tunisia past the first round, but Senegal did make the last 16 before being
eliminated after a heavy loss to England.
Reigning African champions Senegal suffered a massive
pre-tournament blow when star forward Sadio Mane was ruled out by injury.
Motsepe disclosed that a dispute between CAF and sports
agency Lagardere had been “resolved amicably”, but refused to give details,
citing a confidentiality clause.
Lagardere signed a one billion dollar (940 million euros)
contract with the Cairo-based African football body in 2017, which was supposed
to last until 2028.
However, just one year into the television and marketing
deal, it was scrapped after two legal judgments said it breached competition
rules.
A senior CAF official, who requested anonymity, told AFP his
organisation would pay Lagardere 25 million dollars in instalments to settle
the dispute.
Motsepe said Algeria, Benin, Morocco, Nigeria and Zambia
were among countries wanting to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after
Guinea withdrew recently, saying they were “not ready”.
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