Arsene Wenger has praised the just concluded AFCON, claiming it was a tournament of the small margins between the teams,” Wenger remarked, highlighting the compactness and lack of space on the field, a trend also seen in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha.
The Frenchman advocated for stronger club competitions within Africa pointing out that the continent’s inability to retain talent stems from the financial incapacity of its clubs.
“There have been remarkable improvements since the last tournament,” he said in an interview this week. A total of 52 matches were played by 24 teams, yielding 119 goals for the highest tally ever at an Afcon edition. “Overall, it was a tournament of the small margins between the teams,” said Wenger
Arsène Wenger, having witnessed the spectacle first-hand, shared his insights on the tournament’s progress, the burgeoning talent within Africa, and the vital steps needed to nurture this pool of potential
“When I say ‘we want to develop’, it’s a bit pretentious. We want to help them to develop, you know? I would like to use my knowledge to help them to do it. When you are at Fifa, you think the job will really be done the day everybody can aspire to win the World Cup.
That’s our basic job and Africa is part of that, Asia, OFC and Concacaf too. Of course, Conmebol and Europe share it at the moment, but we want them to be challenged by all the Confederations.
And that is just through education that it will happen and creating strong competitions. Competitions are important as well and the fact that you organise a Fifa Under-17 World Cup every year will allow the youth, as well, to develop quicker”
