African countries ask FIFA to increase the continent's World Cup allocation

Published on: 06 April 2014
African countries ask FIFA to increase the continent's World Cup allocation
African countries want FIFA to increase their numbers at the World Cup

African countries have started a campaign to increase the continent's allocation of five places at the World Cup with the motion set to be tabled at the FIFA Congress in Brazil in June.

Twenty-eight national associations who attended a FIFA workshop which ended in South Africa yesterday took the decision to ask Fifa to increase Africa's number of berths at the World Cup.

The allocation is normally five, although this increased to six when South Africa hosted the continent's first finals four years ago.

Nonetheless, no more than one African nation has ever reached the knock-out stage at any World Cup.

"The allocation of Africa's World Cup slots is based on a decision taken in 1994 at the FIFA congress in Chicago, just ahead of the World Cup in the United States," Danny Joordan, the president of South Africa Football Association (SAFA) explained.

"When that allocation was made 20 years ago, was African football still at the same place? And if not, what progress has been made - and is there a case for an argument of increasing the number of slots for the African continent?"

Jordaan is keen to bring these issues to the table at the Fifa Congress in Brazil, though he suggests it may be after the World Cup.

Alongside African champions Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria and Cameroon are set to compete in Brazil.

No African side has ever reached the semi-finals, although Ghana were a penalty miss away in 2010, while Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) make up the three sides to have reached the last eight.

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