Africa ‘okays’ FIFA World Cup after every two years

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has given a thumbs up to a proposal seeking to have the FIFA World Cup be played after every two years.

The FIFA World Cup is the world’s most popular competition and is currently held after every four years.

But CAF’s Executive Committee, chaired by the body’s newly elected President Patrice Motsepe, appears to have other ideas.

“The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), whose chair is Dr. Patrice Motsepe, met on Friday 16th July 2021, to show their support for the recommendations of the FIFA World Cup being held every two years instead of the previous four,” it said in a statement.

The move, according to CAF insiders could make it easier for African teams to compete and win the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup, which normally attracts the highest audience, consists of 32 national teams including well-known bigwigs such as Brazil, Italy, Spain, England, Croatia.

Only 13 out of 54 African countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Togo, and DR Congo have qualified to play at this competition which was hosted by South Africa in 2010.

The winning team at this tournament is normally awarded the FIFA World Cup trophy, a 6.1kg trophy made of 18-carat gold with bands of malachite (a rare crystal found in the Democratic Republic of Congo) on its base.

France are the reigning champions after winning their second title in 2018 in Russia, while Brazil, is the most successful country in the world with five world titles.

The next FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2022.