AFRICA’S HISTORICAL PRESENCE AT THE WORLD CUP

Amilcar Xayiya

@melkardascribe

 

For the first time a generation of young South Africans/Africans will watch their home countries compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted in North America. While teams like Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia qualified for the last World Cup hosted in Qatar in 2022, for teams such as South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria, it has been over a decade since they last set foot on the World Cup stage.

 

The World Cup used to have a small pool of African teams competing. However, the larger African presence this year not only reflects the expansion to 48 teams in the World Cup but also a change in the football landscape.

 

This change is the sporting development of African countries, with recent World Cups having shown the continent producing not just participants but competitors. A good example of this is Morocco, who reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup, only losing to the eventual winner, France.

 

For countries like South Africa a return to the World Cup stage carries significance, as considering the national team has not been in the World Cup since 2010, when they hosted, their return to the world stage gave a generation of people who have not been exposed to South Africa in the World Cup that exposure.

 

To explore this perspective further, 13-year-old Grade 7 learner at Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bathwa Mangxamba, shared his thoughts on seeing South Africa’s return to the World Cup stage for the first time. While happy for his home country making it to the World Cup, Bathwa stated, “I do not have high expectations for South Africa. They have to at least win one match, but if they make it to round 16, it’s a big win.”

 

When asked about his feelings towards African teams making it far in the World Cup stages, for example, Morocco, Bathwa said, “I saw Morocco beating teams like Croatia and Spain in the last World Cup as a win for Africa, but them beating Portugal left me with mixed feelings considering I’m a Cristiano Ronaldo fan.”

 

Akhanyile Johnson, a second-year BCom student at the North West University Potchefstroom campus (NWU) as well as a soccer player, was asked if he felt African teams are underrated in the World Cup, to which he answered with a flat no. Elaborating on his answer, he said, “Countries like Morocco, Egypt and Senegal have strong squads made up of top players who compete in the biggest leagues around the world.”

 

Additionally, Johnson was asked, excluding South Africa, what team he supports in the World Cup, and he said, “I support Spain simply because I’m a Barcelona fan, and since many players from Barcelona play in the Spanish international team, it’s like supporting Barca on the international level.”

 

This is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek answer aimed at Real Madrid fans, considering only one of their players made it into the Spanish squad while seven from Barcelona made it in.

 

While some fans tend to look at African teams’ participation in the World Cup as spot-filling, other fans, such as Gopolang Moeng Molefe, a coaching science student at NWU and a soccer player as well, view it as a big opportunity to give homegrown talent the World Cup spotlight and hopefully inspire future stars, showing them that with hard work and dedication you can show your skills to the world.

 

As the 2026 Fifa World Cup draws closer, it represents more than just a global football tournament but also an opportunity for people from different countries, cultures and cohorts to connect through the game. With a new generation of fans set to witness their nations compete on football’s biggest stage, the tournament carries a deeper significance — one of pride, representation and possibility. Africa’s presence is no longer about filling spaces but about shaping the story of the World Cup itself.

 

Illustrates the African teams that have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (Source: sportsgully).

 

Edited by Isabel Burgers