{"id":101165,"date":"2026-06-13T07:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T07:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tv.guardian.ng\/?p=101165"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:38:10","slug":"cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Verde: An island nation swept up in World Cup dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"dailymotion-player\"><script src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player\/x1ee8e.js\" data-video=\"k4dJM7wte9iuqWGzrVQ\"><\/script><\/div><br><br><p>\nFor the first time ever, Cape Verde is heading to the World Cup. The West African island nation \u2013 home to fewer than half a million people \u2013 will be one of the smallest countries in tournament history. In the capital Praia, preparations are in full swing, with qualification sparking huge excitement and renewed hope among young people. In working-class neighbourhoods, football has long been an escape \u2013 and now, a global stage awaits. Sarah Sakho and Simon Martin report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the first time ever, Cape Verde is heading to the World Cup. The West African island nation \u2013 home to fewer than half a million people \u2013 will be one of the smallest countries in tournament history. In the capital Praia, preparations are in full swing, with qualification sparking huge excitement and renewed hope [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gam_disable_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1535],"tags":[18469,22032,41278,2329],"class_list":["post-101165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","tag-cape-verde","tag-dreams","tag-island-nation","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cape Verde: An island nation swept up in World Cup dreams - GuardianTV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the first time ever, Cape Verde is heading to the World Cup. 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The West African island nation \u2013 home to fewer than half a million people \u2013 will be one of the smallest countries in tournament history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/guardian.ng\/tv\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GuardianTV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T07:04:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T18:38:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tv.guardian.ng\/2026\/06\/gg-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abiodun Ogundairo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abiodun Ogundairo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7ea396ab9bae73d4845496dbad885f1\"},\"headline\":\"Cape Verde: An island nation swept up in World Cup dreams\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T07:04:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-29T18:38:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":95,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/gg-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cape Verde\",\"dreams\",\"island nation\",\"World Cup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Africa\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cape Verde: An island nation swept up in World Cup dreams - GuardianTV\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guardian.ng\\\/tv\\\/cape-verde-an-island-nation-swept-up-in-world-cup-dreams\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gtvcdn.guardian.ng\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/gg-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T07:04:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-29T18:38:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"For the first time ever, Cape Verde is heading to the World Cup. 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