FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Tuesday confirmed that at least nine African teams will compete in the 2026 World Cup that will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Infantino made the remarks when the 46th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ordinary General Assembly opened on Tuesday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, bringing together leaders and delegates of member associations from across Africa.

"In World Cup 2026, there will be nine or ten African countries (and regions) participating in the World Cup," said Infantino, noting that the increase is to be made in line with FIFA's expanded World Cup format.

Infantino urged African countries to further invest in and unleash the potential of the continent's young football players.

"I encourage all of you to continue investing in youth football because those kids, those girls and boys, will be the stars of tomorrow," he said.

The president said FIFA is also considering increasing the number of African teams participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup to six.

He also noted that Morocco is set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, which would make the country the second-ever African nation to host the World Cup.

While addressing the opening session of the Assembly, Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie appealed to the CAF to endorse Ethiopia's bid to host the 2029 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2029) tournament. — Xinhua