There have been 22 editions of the global showpiece since 1930, and in that time 49 sides have represented the continent, taken from 13 countries, yet Africa has produced just one semi-finalist.
That historic landmark came four years ago at Qatar 2022, when Morocco broke new ground for the world’s second-largest and second most populous continent. It means the apocryphal prediction made by Brazil’s three-time World Cup winner Pele, who said in the 1970s that an African nation would get their hands on the trophy by the year 2000, has still not come to pass.
The big question is: how much longer will we have to wait?
Africa had three quarter-finalists – Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 – before Morocco upset Belgium, Spain and Portugal on their way to the last four in Qatar.
The one thing underpinning the North Africans’ success has been long-term investment backed by the country’s King Mohammed VI.
An academy and $65m (£48.7m) training complex, both bearing his name, opened in 2009 and 2019 respectively and have helped the Atlas Lions establish themselves as Africa’s top-ranked side.
Morocco has created a blueprint of how it can be done, which is years and years of investing in grassroot football and academies. It has to be something that comes from federations being supported from a governmental level.
Morocco have invested not just money but also time and effort, with a clear idea of how they can progress. The facilities they have, the consistency throughout their age groups, that’s the only blueprint you can follow.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf), for its part, has been attempting to boost the coffers of national federations and club sides by increasing prize money for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and its top continental club competitions, as well as investing in schools championships.
Claude Le Roy, who managed Cameroon at the 1998 World Cup and has coached five other African nations, says investing in youth will reap long-term benefits.
“If you want to permanently have high-level national teams in Africa, you need to work with youth categories.”
