FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that 40 of Africa’s 54 national associations can now host international matches on home soil, with the governing body aiming to ensure all 54 eventually have that capacity.
Infantino said around 26 African nations were unable to stage their home matches domestically about two years ago, highlighting the progress made since then while acknowledging that 14 countries still cannot host games at home.
“Around 26 African nations could not host home matches on home soil about two years ago. Today, 40 African nations can host at home,” Infantino said during the CAF Strategy Conference in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cabo Verde.
The FIFA president said the next objective is to close the remaining gap and enable every African nation to play its home fixtures in its own country.
“The goal is that all 54 African nations should be able to play their home matches at home. FIFA will work and support,” he said.
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The issue of suitable infrastructure has remained an important part of African football’s development, with the inability to meet stadium requirements forcing some national teams to play home fixtures outside their own countries.
Infantino’s figures suggest that the situation has improved significantly in the space of roughly two years, with the number of African nations able to host home matches rising to 40.
That still leaves 14 associations without the required capacity, however, and FIFA’s stated ambition is to eliminate that gap.
The announcement came as CAF’s 54 member associations gathered alongside the CAF Executive Committee, zonal union presidents, national team coaches and technical leaders for discussions on the future of African football.
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Infrastructure is central to the wider objective of making football across the continent more competitive and sustainable.
The conference is examining how CAF’s member associations can become “world class and self-supporting”, while CAF competitions are developed to compete more strongly on the global stage.
Infantino understands that improving the ability of national teams to play at home is part of that broader development.
He also pointed to Africa’s performance at the 2026 World Cup, where nine of the continent’s 10 representatives reached the knockout stage, as evidence of the progress being made on the pitch.
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