CAF President Bets on Morocco to Represent Africa in World Football

Rabat – The newly elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe has hailed Morocco’s efforts in advancing African football and is betting high on Morocco’s Atlas Lions to duly represent Africa at the 2022 World Cup.

Motsepe expressed his views in a statement to the Moroccan press upon arrival at Rabat-Sale airport on Friday. Motsepe was welcomed by Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of Morocco’s football governing body (FRMF) and CAF’s finance committee chairman.

“Morocco is one of the countries on which we place great hopes to proudly represent the African continent,” Motsepe stated.

In a letter to Lekjaa nearly a month before the pair’s meeting this week, CAF’s president expressed his wishes to maintain consultations with FRMF to “change and significantly improve the CAF and the African football to make it competitive and sustainable.”

Motsepe aims to greatly promote African football through establishing football inter-school competition in Africa.

The competition was initially launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early April with the aim of spotting and investing African emerging African tallents. The project will be extended to be established in six African zones resulting in a Pan-African school’s championship final.

In a statement to the press, CAF’s president said he and Lekjaa mainly discussed the leadership challenge facing African football and Morocco’s crucial and exemplary contributions to improving football in Africa.

Motsepe drew particular attention to the North African contry’s football infrastructure, arguing that CAF and African leagues should focus on developing and improving football at the national and continental levels.

“To improve the quality of our football players, we must improve our stadiums, our football training academies,” he said.

He stressed that cooperation with the private sector is essential in CAF’s ambition to make African football one the best in the world.