As the World Cup thrill die down following the conclusion of the month-long tournament, one aspect that Africa through the Confederation of African Football (CAF) should ponder is to re-evaluate of her skewed representation to the world football showpiece.
In the just concluded tournament, Africa was represented by 5 nations. 3 of the 5 nations came from zone 1 while the remaining 2 came from zone 2. Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco were teams originating from zone 1 while Nigeria and Senegal hailed from zone 2.
Considering the above, it is unfair for the remaining 4 zones to lack a representative to the world cup yet zone 1 which consists of 5 member nations sends 3 teams to the tournament!
Going forward, World Cup teams have been increased to 48 thus Africa has been allotted 9 slots up from 5. It is wise for CAF to allocate each of the 6 zones a slot.
Teams in a zone play against each other with the winner making it for the world cup. A draw is made to pair the runners-up in the zones for a knockout to determine the remaining 3 teams to link with the rest.
African nations’ football federations should rise and smell the coffee!