Cabo Verde’s remarkable rise in world football has brought another major moment for the island nation, with the country hosting the CAF Strategy Conference from 7-9 October 2026 in Santa Maria, Sal Island.
The gathering brings together Presidents of CAF’s 54 Member Associations, National Team coaches, technical leaders and international football experts to examine the development of <a href="https://absafricatv.com/into-africa-with-a-fluttering-heart/” title=”Into Africa, with a fluttering heart”>African football and the lessons from the FIFA World Cup 2026.
For Cabo Verde, the choice of venue comes after a historic year in which the country qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time and then progressed from the group stage on its debut.
Their campaign ended only after a dramatic 3-2 extra-time defeat by defending champions Argentina in the Round of 32, a performance which further enhanced the reputation of a team that had arrived at the tournament as newcomers.
CAF has identified Cabo Verde’s World Cup performances as one of the reasons the country provides a fitting setting for a Conference designed to study Africa’s progress and determine how it can be sustained towards 2030.
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A small Atlantic nation with a growing football profile
Cabo Verde is an Atlantic archipelago situated roughly 455 kilometres off the West African coast.
The country consists of 10 islands, nine of them inhabited, with Praia on Santiago Island serving as the capital. The islands cover a combined area of about 4,033 square kilometres and are traditionally divided into the northern Barlavento and southern Sotavento groups.
Sal belongs to the Barlavento group and is among the flatter and more arid islands of the archipelago.
Its name reflects the island’s historical association with salt, while in modern times it has become one of Cabo Verde’s main international tourism centres.
The island covers about 215 square kilometres, with Monte Grande its highest point at 406 metres. Official tourism information puts its population at about 35,000.
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Why Santa Maria and Sal?
The Conference is being staged in Santa Maria, on the southern part of Sal Island.
Santa Maria is best known internationally for its long sandy beaches, turquoise Atlantic waters and year-round mild climate, helping to make Sal one of Cabo Verde’s leading tourism destinations. Water sports and beach tourism have also helped give the island a strong international profile.
That makes Sal a practical location for a gathering expected to attract football officials and experts from across Africa and beyond.
But the symbolism is equally important.
Cabo Verde’s football progress demonstrates one of the central themes of the Strategy Conference: that success does not depend only on the size of a country or its population.
The Blue Sharks reached their first World Cup through organisation, planning and a clear technical identity, before showing at the tournament that they could compete with some of the biggest names in international football.
From Cabo Verde’s story to Africa’s next step
That experience will now sit alongside the wider discussion about Africa’s World Cup progress.
A record 10 African nations competed at the 2026 tournament and nine reached the knockout phase, the continent’s strongest collective performance at a World Cup.
The CAF Strategy Conference will examine what drove those performances and what needs to happen next in coaching, player development, football administration and long-term technical planning.
Cabo Verde therefore provides more than an attractive backdrop.
A country that entered 2026 having never played at a World Cup now hosts some of African football’s most important decision-makers as they consider how the continent can take its next step.
And on Sal Island, one of Cabo Verde’s gateways to the world, Africa’s football leaders will attempt to turn the lessons of 2026 into a stronger plan for 2030 and beyond.
