Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Wednesday, expressed his enthusiasm after the Atlas Lions reached the semi-finals of the World Cup won on Sunday by Argentina.
Morocco has taken Africa to the last four of a World Cup for the first time in history. The Atlas Lions have defeated Belgium, Spain and Portugal to finish at the foot of the podium. In addition, Senegal stopped in the round of 16, while Cameroon, Tunisia and Ghana failed to reach the second round.
This Wednesday, Patrice Motsepe held a press conference online during which he reviewed Africa’s performance at the global football event. “The 54 member countries of CAF are extremely inspired by the victories of the five nations that represented us at the World Cup Qatar 2022. We are particularly proud of Morocco’s historic qualification for the semi-finals. This is the first time an African nation has reached this stage of the competition. I would like to express our deep gratitude to the players, the technical staff, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) led by Fouzi Lekjaa, the Moroccan people and King Mohammed VI,” CAF’s boss said.
Before Coach Walid Regragui and his team create the sensation in Doha, Africa remained on three quarterfinal losses: Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010). Now, “Our goal is to ensure that an African nation wins the World Cup. It is within reach,” Motsepe added.
To make African football more competitive at the global level, Ahmad Ahmad’s successor promised, “We will continue to invest in school football, youth academies for boys and girls, as well as infrastructure and football facilities. CAF is also committed to improving the quality of trainers, coaches, referees and developing soccer in each of the 54 member associations.
In addition, the South African billionaire assured, “the implementation of global best practices in governance, auditing and administration is bearing fruit and mutually beneficial discussions are taking place with our sponsors, partners and investors. We are also making progress on the African Super League and announcements will be made in due course.”
ID/te/fss/abj/APA