- CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has sent a message to all African representatives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- DR Congo became the 10th representative at the tournament after beating Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff
- Top continental heavyweights, including Nigeria and Cameroon, missed out on the expanded 48-nation event
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has sent a message to all the African countries taking part at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Africa will have a record 10 representatives at the historic expanded 48-nation tournament from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in North America.
Source: Getty Images
According to FIFA, the Leopards of DR Congo became the last African team to qualify after beating Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff final.
Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde and South Africa qualified automatically as winners of the group phase.
The nine guaranteed slots gave CAF a perfect nine groups of six teams each, with the top teams qualifying automatically, while the four best second-placed teams take part in the playoff.
Eritrea’s withdrawal from the last edition provided a challenge, but CAF navigated it by deducting the points won against the bottom team of each group before deciding the playoff teams.
The system helped the Super Eagles of Nigeria secure the playoff spot narrowly on goal difference ahead of Benin in Group C and Burkina Faso in Group A.
Motsepe sends message to African countries
President Patrice Motsepe has expressed pride in the 10 countries and is confident that they will represent the continent well at the global showpiece in a statement on CAF website.
“CAF and African Football are proud of the 10 Countries that will be representing the African Continent at the FIFA World Cup 2026,” he said.
“It is the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup that Africa is represented by 10 Countries. This is a recognition of the substantial growth and global competitiveness of African Football.
“We are confident that the African National Teams at the FIFA World Cup 2026 will make us proud and that an African Nation will be Champions of the FIFA World Cup.”
He singled out the Leopards of DR Congo after becoming the 10th representative following their victory over Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff.
Source: Getty Images
“We also want to congratulate the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”) for their victory against Jamaica and qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” he concluded.
DR Congo still has a final hurdle to clear as the Nigeria Football Federation remains hopeful of getting a favourable verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
FIFA dismissed Nigeria’s case against DR Congo, challenging the eligibility of their foreign-born stars, and the NFF took the case to CAS.
African countries that missed 2026 WC
Legit.ng previously analysed the top 6 African countries that missed out on the 2026 World Cup using the official FIFA rankings as the decider.
The top two are Nigeria and Cameroon, both of whom have 8 AFCONs between them and lost to DR Congo during the four-nation African playoff.
Source: Legit.ng
