Wedson Nyirenda warns mismanagement is stalling growth of African football

In recent years, African clubs and national teams have made their mark on the global stage. Most notably, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Meanwhile, South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns impressed at the recently concluded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, pushing Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in a thrilling seven-goal group stage encounter.

Speaking to Foot Africa, Nyirenda pointed to these milestones as evidence of the continent's continued football development.

"The standard of African football has risen so much. It is evident from the way Morocco performed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Mamelodi Sundowns' performance at the just-ended FIFA Club World Cup also tells a big story on how far our game has reached," he said.

While encouraged by the progress, Nyirenda believes many federations still fall short in key areas, hindering other regions from matching North African dominance in CAF competitions.

"Very few teams from other regions in our continent are trying to bridge the gap to North African teams because of the lack of professionalism in many of our leagues," Nyirenda continued.

The former Zambia national team coach stressed that mismanagement and misplaced priorities remain a major stumbling block.

"Misplaced priorities in the way we run our game in many nations is so worrying. Infrastructure facilities and equipment are not being given the attention they deserve in order to meet the required standards," he concluded.