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fifa President Gianni Infantino has reaffirmed world football’s governing body’s commitment to expanding investment in African football, revealing that $1 billion has been committed to development programs across the continent over the past decade.
Speaking at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) strategic meeting in Cape Verde, Infantino highlighted that Africa’s growing influence in world football must be accompanied by greater investment in infrastructure, talent development and opportunities for players to compete internationally.
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“African talent has and is increasingly shaping world football. And we need to provide opportunities for this talent to shine on the world stage,” Infantino said.
The FIFA President highlighted the impact of the FIFA Forward Programme, revealing that significant resources had already been allocated to improving football facilities and development structures in African countries.
“With the FIFA Forward program we have invested one billion dollars in Africa in ten years. Five hundred million in the last four years alone, 124 different projects and many other actions,” he stated.
Infantino also identified inadequate stadium infrastructure as a major obstacle to the development of football, revealing that several African national teams had previously been forced to play international matches outside their countries.
“Two years ago, 26 African countries could not play their home games because they did not have a stadium that met the standards,” he explained.
“Now 14 of them play at home.”
The FIFA president said the ultimate goal was to ensure that more African countries could host international matches on their own territory, reducing the financial and logistical burdens associated with hosting local matches abroad.
“Our common goal is, of course, to have even more and for all of you to be able to play your home games on your own territory,” he said.
Infantino assured African football stakeholders that FIFA will continue to seek additional resources and investment opportunities to strengthen the continent’s competitiveness.
“We will continue to look for the possibilities, resources and increases necessary to push African football to the top, on a global level,” he added.
For Infantino, Africa’s influence on world football is undeniable, but sustained investment in facilities, development programs and opportunities remains essential to unlocking the continent’s full potential.
