Infantino addressed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Strategy Conference on Sal Island less than five weeks before nominations close for the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March in Morocco. “We need to continue together on this path,” Infantino said.
“It’s up to you, the Member Associations of CAF, who are also Member Associations of FIFA, to tell us what you want to do, how you want to continue and how we can make you stronger.”
CAF President Patrice Motsepe led the endorsement after the second day of the Conference, accompanied by Infantino and 52 of Africa’s 54 football association Presidents.
Africa represents the second-largest voting bloc in the FIFA elective Congress, with 54 Member Associations. UEFA has 55.
Infantino said FIFA would continue helping African associations secure the opportunities and resources required to develop football.
“Football belongs to everyone, everywhere,” Infantino said. “We have to find the opportunities and the resources for this to become a reality.”
Infantino highlighted improvements in African football during recent years, including the historic performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where nine of the continent’s 10 representatives reached the knockout stage.
FIFA Forward funding has also supported African associations during Infantino’s 10 years in office.
Another major focus has been stadium infrastructure. Poor pitches and facilities previously forced 26 African national teams to stage home matches outside their countries.
More than 41 countries can now host international matches at home after FIFA and CAF introduced stricter compliance standards and governments invested in stadium improvements.
Infantino has promoted the goal of ensuring every Member Association has access to a match venue meeting international standards.
Governments have provided most of the funding for stadium improvements, with football associations playing supporting roles. Motsepe has also pursued the issue during meetings with African Heads of State.
However, the public CAF endorsement does not guarantee unanimous support because the FIFA election will be conducted through a secret ballot.
A similar situation occurred during the 2016 FIFA election, when some African associations supported Infantino despite CAF publicly endorsing Asian candidate Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.
Potential opposition involving UEFA, Concacaf and parts of the Asian Football Confederation has yet to produce a strong challenger.
— SABC/ChannelAfrica–
