CAF President Patrice Motsepe Sends Message to Senegal Ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup
- CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has written a letter to Senegal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) published the letter on its official website on Sunday, June 7
- The Teranga Lions are one of the 10 African representatives at the expanded 48-nation World Cup
Dr Patrice Motsepe, the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has written a letter to Senegal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The United States of America, Mexico and Canada will host the global showpiece from June 11 to July 19, 2026, the first edition to be hosted by three nations.
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Africa will have 10 representatives at the expanded 48-nation tournament, second only to Europe, which has 16 participating countries.
As noted by CAF, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, and debutant Cape Verde picked up the nine automatic qualification slots.
The Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo qualified via the intercontinental playoff, defeating Cameroon, Nigeria and Jamaica on the way.
Motsepe sends message to Senegal
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe wrote a letter to the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) ahead of the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
FSF published the letter, which was addressed to its President Abdoulaye Fall, on its website on June 7, 2026, days before the World Cup kick-off.
“On behalf of the CAF Member Federations representing 54 African countries, we wish the Lions of Teranga every success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™,” the letter reads.
“The Lions of Teranga have, on numerous occasions, made the Senegalese people and the entire continent proud with their victories and outstanding performances.
“We are confident that they will once again proudly represent Senegal and the 1.6 billion Africans at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. May Allah continue to guide and bless the Lions of Teranga.”
Motsepe has been attempting to foster deeper unity in African football after the chaos created by the aftermath of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
CAF’s Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the title after Morocco appealed the initial verdict after the ugly incidents during the 2025 final.
Motsepe visited Senegal and Morocco afterwards and addressed a press conference at both countries, urging calmness as the legal battle continues.
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Senegal remains in possession of the trophy, medals and prize money, while Morocco also parades itself as the African champion after the verdict.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is expected to pass a verdict later in the year, which would be the end of the saga.
Motsepe, in one of his addresses, has promised that CAF will respect whatever verdict is passed by CAS after conflicting judgments from two bodies within the organisation.
CAF releases statement on Senegal
Legit.ng previously reported that CAF released a statement on the Teranga Lions of Senegal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
CAF praised Senegal’s recent contributions to African football and backed it as one of the teams that has the quality to have a deep run at the tournament.
Source: Legit.ng
