- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has published a new statement on its representatives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- CAF will have a record-breaking 10 teams at the expanded 48-nation tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada
- The Blue Sharks of Cape Verde are featuring at the World Cup for the first time, while others aim for more history in their kitty
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has published a new statement about its representatives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Africa will have 10 national teams in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada after FIFA expanded the number of participating teams to 48.
Source: Getty Images
As noted by FIFA, CAF received nine guaranteed slots and an additional slot obtainable via the intercontinental playoff, which, fortunately, was secured by DR Congo for the 2026 edition.
Senegal, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and debutant Cape Verde secured automatic qualification.
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CAF’s statement on World Cup representatives
CAF published a statement on its website celebrating its record-breaking 10 representatives ahead of the tournament in North America.
Africa’s first representative was Egypt in 1934, after the Pharaohs narrowly missed out on the inaugural edition in 1930 due to a storm that affected their trip
The continent had one representative each in 1970, 1974 and 1978 with Morocco, Tunisia and Zaire (now DR Congo) representing Africa.
Algeria and Cameroon in 1982, Algeria and Morocco in 1986 and Cameroon and Egypt were the first set of twin representatives of the continent at the World Cup.
Cameroon, Morocco and Nigeria in 1994 was the first time three teams represented Africa. CAF had five teams each from 1998 to 2022, except 2010 when hosts South Africa made it six.
The journey that started 92 years ago has led the continent to a historic tournament in 2026, where they will have 10 teams flying Africa’s colours.
African teams have had iconic moments, but the best came in Qatar in 2022 when Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-final.
The achievement and the quality of teams defeated on the way, which included Belgium, Spain and Portugal, have reignited the belief in other teams.
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“After years of near misses, dramatic exits and unforgettable moments, Africa arrives in North America with its strongest presence yet,” a part of the statement reads.
“From Egypt’s first appearance in 1934 to 10 teams in 2026, the journey has been long, difficult and historic.”
Africa, despite the increase in its representation, will be without two of its most iconic teams, the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
CAF sends message to Nigeria and Cameroon
We previously reported that CAF sent a message to Nigeria and Cameroon despite the two continental heavyweights failing to qualify for the World Cup.
The iconic teams, Super Eagles and the Indomitable Lions, who have featured at the tournament a combined 14 times, missed out on the first edition, with 10 African teams.