Africa To Get More W/Cup Slots, Increased Funding, Says FIFA President
L-R: Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and FIFA President, Gianni Infantino[/caption]
After many decades of having just five slots in World Cup tournaments, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has assured that Africa will have the opportunity of getting two more spots in the 2026 World Cup.
Infantino made this revelation at a World Press Conference in Abuja on Tuesday to mark the end of his two-day working visit to Nigeria.
According to the FIFA boss, his administration will strengthen efforts to ensure the development of football in Africa and other developing continents.
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“Our interest is more in football development and during my campaign to become the president I promised to introduce some reforms which included that unlike in the past that the Secretary General will not come from Europe and today we have Secretary General from Africa.
“Also you all know that before our election, the issue of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup editions had been settled but we will ensure that by 2026 we increase the number of participating countries to 40 and Africa is expected to get two more slots.”
Infantino further disclosed that the challenges experienced with funding of federations will soon become a thing of the past, as is it one of the objectives of his executive committee.
Going forward, he revealed that the yearly FIFA grants will increase from about $400,000 dollars to between $1.2million and 1.5million dollars to each member association.
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“The reforms we are running are transparent and I want to assure that now FIFA has become more accountable in our actions. Today we have 18 national associations that have come here to discuss with us on how we can together reform football and this shows we are on the right track.”
Before leaving Nigeria on Monday, Infantino paid a courtesy visit to President Mohammadu Buhari as well as the Senate President Bukola Saraki.
