Africa’s representatives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup have delivered a strong and united response to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin after his criticism of the tournament’s expanded 48-team format.
With the World Cup underway across the United States, Canada and Mexico, ten African nations competing at the tournament have joined forces with fellow qualifiers Curaçao, Uzbekistan and Haiti to reject comments suggesting that the expanded competition would inevitably produce “uninteresting” matches.
The reaction follows remarks made by Mr Čeferin, who questioned FIFA’s decision to increase the number of participating nations from 32 to 48.
The UEFA chief argued that while Europe’s representation had increased only slightly, from 13 teams in Qatar 2022 to 16 in 2026, some newly qualified nations would struggle to compete against European opposition.
While acknowledging that smaller nations would benefit from experiencing the World Cup, he suggested that the expansion risked creating matches lacking competitive value.
The comments have not gone down well among several of the countries making their debut appearance or returning to football’s biggest stage after lengthy absences.
In a joint statement released through the Senegalese Football Federation, the nations expressed what they described as their “profound disappointment” with the UEFA president’s position.
“We respectfully but firmly reject these comments. For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match,” the statement read.
The signatories include Cape Verde, Congo, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, alongside Curaçao, Uzbekistan and Haiti.
For several of those nations, qualification itself represented a historic milestone. The statement highlighted the significance of the achievement for countries such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan, whose participation marks a landmark moment in their football history.
It also pointed to the emotional importance of the tournament for nations such as Congo and Haiti, whose return to the World Cup follows years—and in some cases decades—of waiting.
“To suggest that these matches are somehow less important is deeply disappointing and fails to recognize the efforts, sacrifices and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football leaders and supporters across the world,” the statement continued.
The group stressed that World Cup qualification extends far beyond sport for many developing football nations.
According to the statement, participation inspires future generations, accelerates football development and creates moments that unite entire countries.
“We believe that every nation that qualifies deserves respect. Every team has earned its place on merit. Every supporter has the right to dream. Every match carries meaning for millions of people around the world.”
The statement concluded with a direct rejection of Čeferin’s position.
“We therefore reject the UEFA President’s comments and reaffirm our belief that the growth of football must continue to create opportunities, inspire new generations and strengthen the truly global nature of our game.
“Every team qualified on merit. Every match matters.”
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The response comes as Africa enjoys its largest-ever representation at a FIFA World Cup, with ten nations competing in the inaugural 48-team tournament.
Early results have already underlined the continent’s ambition. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana suffered a narrow defeat to Mexico in their opening match, while Morocco; Africa’s historic semi-finalists from Qatar 2022, sent an early message to the rest of the tournament with an impressive draw against the Samba boys of Brazil.
With Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Congo and Cape Verde still preparing for their opening fixtures, Africa’s representatives are determined to prove that the expanded World Cup is not diluting football’s biggest stage.
Instead, they believe it is making it truly global.
