Infantino made the remark when the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly opened on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, bringing together leaders and delegates of member associations from across Africa.
“In World Cup 2026, there will be nine or ten African countries participating in the World Cup,” said Infantino, noting that the increase is to be made in line with FIFA’s expanded World Cup format.
It was noted that Africa is guaranteed nine places, up from the current five, while a 10th nation will enter a six-team play-off tournament to decide the final two qualifiers, raising the potential of an extra place for the continent.
Infantino urged African countries to further invest and unleash the potential of the continent’s young football players.
“I encourage all of you to continue investing in youth football because those kids, those girls and boys will be the stars of tomorrow,” he said.
The president said FIFA is also considering increasing the number of African countries participating in the FIFA Women’s World Cup to six.
He also noted that Morocco is set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 that would make the country as the second ever African nation to host the World Cup.
MG/abj/APA