About Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has been promoting the economic and developmental potential of African football ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Speaking in multiple interviews, Motsepe expressed confidence that an African country will win the World Cup, stating that the continent must "aspire higher and higher." He emphasized the need for consistent investment in youth, academies, and coaches, and said that South Africa's Bafana Bafana should aim to be in the top 10 in the world. Motsepe also defended the World Cup expansion to 48 teams, describing it as a developmental obligation that creates jobs and inspires young people.
Motsepe addressed criticism of CAF's handling of the previous AFCON, where Senegal was stripped of the title and it was awarded to Morocco. He said that "things are back to normal" and that CAF is "stronger, more united than ever," while acknowledging that the organization's reputation depends on public perception. He cited a Nielsen study estimating that the AFCON in Morocco generated approximately $2 billion for the Moroccan economy. Motsepe also discussed preparations for the 2027 AFCON co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, expressing confidence that the countries will meet high standards. On political matters, he dismissed calls for him to enter politics, stating that South Africa has capable leaders and that no single party can address the country's challenges alone.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Patrice Motsepe's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Patrice Motsepe0:00
You know, we are very hopeful. And South Africa has got immensely talented football players, and we also set very high targets and high ambitions for ourselves. So we're really behind South Africa, as much as we've been behind all the 10 African countries that have represented the continent. And it just makes the need for consistent investment in our youth, in our academies, in our coaches, in our players. It just overemphasizes that because at the highest level in the world, like in the FIFA World Cup, we have to compete against the best in the world and win and succeed. And we can do that.
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Interviewer0:53
Some coaches have criticized FIFA for the expansion that you've seen there from 32 to 48 teams. What do you make of that and the pushback you've seen from some of the federations, including South Africa?
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Patrice Motsepe1:03
No, no, I think it's very good because football is about what happens on the field of play and to make sure that the best from Africa can compete against the best in the world. But football also has a developmental obligation. We have to create jobs, we have to invest in our youth, we've got to use football to inspire our young boys and girls that if the football players can succeed in fulfilling their objectives, if you want to be a doctor, an engineer, technologist, take inspiration from the successes in football and other sports and also work. It's about working hard and sacrificing and recognizing that through hard work and sacrifice, you can indeed achieve all of your dreams.
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Interviewer1:51
What have you made of the African teams in the competition? Ghana, very inspirational. Cabo Verde, very inspirational. Does that infuse the South African base today?
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Patrice Motsepe2:00
You know, I remember as a young, I don't know, 6, 7-year-old watching South African football, going to Orlando Stadium as a young 9-year-old and looking at what football has always meant to our people. Part of our objective has to be Bafana must be in the top 10 in the world in football.
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Interviewer2:26
Say it again.
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Patrice Motsepe2:27
Well, it can be done. We have the talent. It just requires the determination, the investment, the hard work. That has to be one of our clear objectives. It takes time. We've got the football culture and we've got the unique, God-given talent and we'll get there. But of course today, the most important thing is we have to win today and we've also got to win next week and that's why I'm wishing Bafana Bafana everything of the very best and all of the other African countries that are...
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Interviewer3:01
What's been so interesting, Mr. President, has been that since kickoff in Mexico City, the conversation has shifted from everything that is possibly going to go wrong in this FIFA World Cup, particularly the hosting in the USA and all those kinds of things. What have you made of this World Cup so far, the criticism that has been leveled at FIFA and the mindset that has shifted since that whistle blew in Mexico City? Well, I'm very proud of the Somali referee, the African referee. That really saddened me.
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Patrice Motsepe3:28
Omar Artan. It saddened me immensely. And I'm very happy that we could in our discussions with the president of UEFA make this young African referee...
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Interviewer3:42
So, that was you behind the scenes?
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Patrice Motsepe3:43
Actually, he got an award. Well, I don't take all the credit.
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Interviewer3:47
No, no, no.
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Patrice Motsepe3:48
It's all about everybody working together and I am enormously grateful because when I spoke to him and told him about what we've managed to achieve for him, he was very emotional. But it made us proud because he's a young boy. We all have to work together, give him an opportunity to realize his talent at the highest level in the world. So he will be the referee when the two top European clubs play in their competition. And I've said to them all, I've had commitments on that day and I'm going to cancel to be there because it's a moment of pride. But I do want to say that football for us is always about bringing our people together.
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Interviewer4:30
Absolutely.
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Patrice Motsepe4:31
When I see this in many other African countries, when the national team plays, there isn't an issue about you are green, I'm yellow. I speak one language, you speak another language. We all are nationals. We are all...
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Interviewer4:47
The context of our South Africa has been criticized right now for other things as you well know, right?
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Patrice Motsepe4:51
Listen, I will always be optimistic and confident about our people. Because South Africa has got exceptional people, caring people. We do. Loving people. And also people who think about how can we help others to make their lives better. And of course for us, as I said, football has always been important to use football to unite our people from different racial backgrounds, different religious backgrounds, and also from different ethnic backgrounds in South Africa and on the continent. And I'm very proud of what has been achieved. And this we will do well.
