‘I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup’: CAF President Patrice Motsepe – Tête à tête
In an interview with FRANCE 24, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) discussed the upcoming World Cup and AFCON competitions. “I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup,” Patrice Motsepe said. “We have to aspire high and high”. He also addressed the unprecedented decision by the CAF to strip Senegal of the most recent AFCON title and hand it to Morocco. “Things are back to normal,” Motsepe insisted. “Based on what has happened since the AFCON in Morocco, we are now stronger, more united than ever.”
Interviewed on the sidelines of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, Motsepe stated that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are fully committed to organising the next Africa Cup of Nations, which is scheduled for June and July 2027. “We set very high standards,” he said. “Every AFCON has to be better than the previous one”.
While the last Africa Cup of Nations ended in unprecedented fashion, with Senegal being stripped of the title and the CAF declaring Morocco champions, Motsepe insisted that “things are back to normal”. “We have learned from what happened in Morocco and I was deeply disappointed because it was the most successful AFCON,” he said.
Asked about possible visa restrictions for the upcoming 2026 World Cup – hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico – Motsepe said that “there’s a total commitment by the American government in particular, as well as by Canada and Mexico, to welcome football players, football spectators and football fans from all over the world”.
“I’m confident that an African country will win the World Cup,” he added, with Morocco having reached the semi-finals last time around. “Our objective is to make sure that an African country succeeds and is champion of the world.”
The CAF president also said he supports the bid by current FIFA President Gianni Infantino for a new mandate in 2027, calling him “a loyal and trustworthy supporter of world football and of African football”.
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