Patrice Motsepe responds to Ahmed Talal’s question and praises Morocco’s role in developing women’s football in Africa
During a press conference held Thursday in Rabat, the President of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, highlighted the progress of women’s football across the continent while paying tribute to Morocco’s commitment in this field.
Speaking at the event, journalist Ahmed Talal from LE7TV asked the CAF president about the evolution of women’s football in Africa, particularly in light of criticism directed at the Moroccan federation.
In response, Patrice Motsepe adopted a clearly positive tone, emphasizing the many advances achieved across the continent. He notably praised Morocco’s role, recalling that the Kingdom has made a significant contribution to the development of African football, including women’s football, even before his tenure at the head of CAF.
The CAF president did, however, point to a major challenge: the organization of competitions. He explained that many countries are reluctant to host tournaments due to the high costs involved, making it difficult to rotate events across different regions of the continent.
In this context, he commended Morocco and the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, for their willingness to support these competitions despite financial constraints.
Motsepe also expressed optimism about the future, stating that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will be a success and calling for greater unity and cooperation among African nations. He stressed the importance of believing in the continent’s potential and working collectively to overcome challenges, whether sporting, political or historical.
Through this intervention, the CAF president reaffirmed his vision of a united, ambitious and forward-looking African football.
Here is the transcript:
Ahmed Talal:
Good evening, Mr. President. Ahmed Talal from LE7TV, a Moroccan media outlet. Welcome back to the Kingdom of Morocco. My question is not about the final, but about the Women’s AFCON and, more broadly, women’s football in Africa. What is your assessment of the progress made by other African countries, particularly those that have criticized the Moroccan federation?
Patrice Motsepe:
Thank you very much. I want to focus on the positive, on what is good. There are so many positive things that we should be proud of on the African continent.
I am always very happy when I travel across Africa and people tell me that Morocco has helped them, even before I became president. That is something beautiful. Morocco has contributed significantly to the development of football, including women’s football, and I am confident that women’s competitions in Africa will be a huge success.
One of the challenges I face concerns the organization of competitions. When I meet the presidents of the 54 member associations, I always tell them what I am telling you today. Sometimes we are looking for host countries for women’s competitions, futsal, beach soccer or even U17 tournaments. I encourage countries to step forward, because I want these competitions to be held across all regions of Africa.
However, sometimes no one comes forward because organizing these tournaments is expensive and can result in financial losses. I then have to relaunch the calls, because my responsibility covers all 54 member associations.
In this context, I want to commend Morocco and Fouzi Lekjaa, who step forward and say, “We will help,” even if it involves a financial sacrifice. This is a commitment I would like to see more countries adopt across the continent.
As I said, we are progressing and improving. The Women’s AFCON will be a great success. But we must believe in ourselves, in our people and in our continent. We must also believe in unity, solidarity and cooperation.
Whatever challenges we face, whether political or historical, we must work together to overcome them. I am convinced that we are succeeding and that we will continue to succeed.
Translated from Abderrazzak Boussaid’s French article – le7tv
