African football makes its post-World self-criticism

FADEL SENNA via Getty Images
                    

FOOTBALL – Less than a week after the end of the World Cup, the time has come for African football. "We need to set up real training and governance programs to reach the global level," said participants at a conference of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), held this Saturday, July 21 in Rabat, to evaluate participation Continental countries at the World Cup Russia-2018 and try to explain the reasons for the elimination of the five African countries (Morocco-Tunisia-Egypt-Nigeria-Senegal) in the first round of the 2018 World Cup. [19659003] "If we take into account that this is a failure, we must assume," said on this occasion the President of the CAF, Ahmad Ahmad, stressing the need to make a careful analysis, to have findings and looking for potential solutions with stakeholders

Focus on Training

Ahmad Ahmad did not stop there, emphasizing the imperative of seeing the format of qualifications, but above all the footb All young people (U20 and U23) and training programs.

"The European teams have been successful in this World because they put in place coherent training programs," he says, noting that the Concrete example of the effectiveness of this strategy is France.

"France is champion of the world by training! They have produced a lot of talent, now all become world stars, "he chained.

CAF is always ready to implement the suggestions and proposals from technicians and specialists to revalue the work , he continued.

Developing African Football

For his part, the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaâ said that such conferences are an opportunity to reflect on the measures to be taken to develop African football and to allow the countries of the Continent to compete with the rise of world football.

"We must make sure to make up for the gaps that today are becoming more and more realities, at the level of football practice, training and governance, "he insisted.

"Apart from a few individual initiatives, the conditions of practice do not meet the standards," he lamented, deploring the fact that he did not have professional processes for the training of young people.

That being so, "The governance of our football challenges us and will challenge us in the coming years to implement concrete measures in terms of training, infrastructure and allow our football to compete with the great nations of world football," said Faouzi Lekjaâ, also a member of CAF's executive board.

He then dwelt on the question of arbitration, noting that new technologies, in this case VAR, must be discussed with "philosophical and civilizational questions. for them to assume their main role, that of being an instrument to ensure impartiality on lawns and to bring justice footb

The VAR has indeed been widely disparaged by the Moroccan public and the players, who have judged that this practice discriminated against small teams for the benefit of the great nations of football.

The CAF conference organized in Rabat is spread over two days, this 21st and 22nd of July. Football legends including Aliou Cisse, former player and current coach of Senegal, Cameroonian Patrick Mboma and his compatriot Geremi Njitap are taking part in it.