An Obsession with Quantity
Absent during the very first edition in 1930, Africa has always fought to be represented at the World Cup and achieved this in 1934 (16 teams) with Egypt becoming the first African country to participate in the final stage of the competition.
Since then, the number of participants has gradually increased until 1998 and the switch to 32 nations (24 countries, including 3 from Africa until 1994). The continent gained two additional spots and thus had five representatives in the final stage up to 2022 and the edition in Qatar.
Then FIFA decided, following a request made by African federations in February 2017, to allocate ten spots to the continent for the 2026 World Cup which is expected to bring together 48 participants: “Out of the 48 teams planned for the 2026 World Cup, nine to ten will be African. We are going to work on it,” promised Gianni Infantino in March of the same year, as reported by Europe 1. Nine years later, the promise was kept.
The Federations were satisfied, and this increase fueled the narrative of a more respected Africa in the biggest competitions, given that it is the most represented Confederation in FIFA with 54 votes, which often tips the balance during presidential elections. And no one knows this major electoral issue better than Gianni Infantino, accustomed to diplomatic campaigns in African presidential palaces. Of course, at such times, political neutrality and government interference no longer count for FIFA.
The 10 Greatest African Performances in the World Cup
An Unbroken Glass Ceiling
For Africa, the stakes have long been, rightly or wrongly, about having more representatives. An obsession with quantity that pushed the pursuit of performance into the background. And it has important consequences, notably psychological ones, since mere participation has become an achievement for the majority of countries, thus limiting dreams and putting aside the stronger probability of a trophy with 32 participants.
Many therefore thought that Africa often exited the World Cup in the second round, that is, the round of 16, because of its low number of participants (5 spots). And so, increasing to ten would give the continent more chances for medals. A hypothesis exposed by this 2026 World Cup. Nine (9) of the ten (10) African teams did indeed make it past the group stage, but only two (2) managed to qualify for the round of 16, namely Morocco and Egypt, so seven (7) were eliminated in the second round. Then only one made it to the quarter-finals, Morocco again, who was also defeated by the French team (0-2).
The fact is clear. Expanding to 48 teams has not necessarily had an impact on the performances of African countries. And so it will be with the move to 64 set for 2030. With five participants in 2022, Morocco reached the semi-finals, then stopped at the quarter-finals with 48 teams. In short, the increase in the number of places allocated to the continent is not the problem, but rather its performances in the competition.
The round of 32 with 48 teams is equivalent to the round of 16 with 32, and Ghana’s quarter-final in 2010 was long the glass ceiling for Africa until 2022 and Morocco’s achievement in Qatar. African federations must work more to have high-performing teams that are no longer satisfied with the minimum, thus removing the barrier of inferiority and the rhetoric of “learning” all the time, even as the squads are becoming increasingly competitive.
