Infantino promises Africa World Cup dream

By : AFP

Date: 1 March 2017 11:11am WAT

FIFA president Italian Gianni Infantino speaks during the second day of the 66th FIFA Congress at the Centro Banamex in Mexico City on May 13, 2016. Senegalese UN diplomat Fatma Samoura is likely to be named as FIFA's new secretary general on Friday, which would make her the first female number two ever at world football's governing body, according to a source close to FIFA. The historic appointment is expected to be made at the FIFA congress in Mexico City, the sources said on condition of anonymity. / AFP PHOTO / ALFREDO ESTRELLA

FIFA president Italian Gianni Infantino / AFP PHOTO / ALFREDO ESTRELLA

FIFA president Gianni Infantino promised to come good on a promise to hike Africa’s World Cup finals berths to nine or ten during a visit to the impoverished West African state of Mauritania this week.

“We want everyone to have the right to dream and how better to do that that taking part in a major event such as a World Cup,” Infantino told a press conference.

During last year’s hotly contested FIFA elections Infantino promised African federation chiefs that if elected he would increase the continent’s meagre five World Cup berths in a new look competition featuring 48 nations rather that the current format of 32.

“Of the 48 teams scheduled for the 2026 World Cup nine or ten will be African. We’ll be working on that,” the Swiss head of world football promised.