On Sal Island in Cape Verde this week, delegates from across African football gathered to ask a hard question: what will it actually take to bring the game on the continent up to world-class standard? For Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, the answer is not money alone. Speaking on the opening day of the CAF strategy conference, he revealed that grants to CAF’s 54 member associations have risen from over 200,000 dollars to 700,000 dollars. But he insisted that results matter more than investment when it comes to lifting football in member associations to the highest level.
Motsepe used his address to call for improvement in refereeing and other aspects of the game across the continent, saying these must reach world-class standards. He also outlined the purpose of the gathering itself. The conference’s main objective, he said, is to draw lessons from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and to discuss how football in member associations can become world class.
The conference was opened on Thursday by three figures: Motsepe, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and the president of Cape Verde, Dr Janira Hopffer Almada. All 54 of CAF’s member associations are represented, and the world’s leading football experts are among those attending the meeting in Cape Verde, in West Africa.
Infantino, for his part, acknowledged the strides African football has made under Motsepe’s presidency. His endorsement carried particular weight given the practical challenges some African countries face. Several still play their home matches on foreign grounds because they lack stadiums that meet both CAF and FIFA standards. Even so, Infantino said there has been a huge improvement, and he described the holding of a CAF strategy conference as a move in the right direction.
Meanwhile, the gathering also carries political significance within world football’s governing structures. Motsepe reaffirmed CAF’s support for Infantino in next year’s FIFA presidential elections, which are to be held in Rabat, Morocco.
The conference is set to conclude on Friday with a session led by Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development. Wenger will guide discussions on what 10 Africans did right at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and on what could be done to improve when the next global showpiece arrives in 2030.
For the delegates who travelled to Sal Island, the agenda blends reflection with ambition: lessons from the most recent World Cup, a frank look at infrastructure gaps, and a shared goal of raising standards across every aspect of the African game. Whether the island’s discussions translate into results on pitches across the continent is the question that will linger long after Friday’s closing session.