Africa’s 2026 World Cup campaign should be seen as a major step forward rather than a failure, according to the Director-General of Ghana’s National Sports Authority (NSA), Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, who insists the continent is “closing the gap” on football’s traditional powers.
In an interview with GhanaWeb on 20 July 2026, Ampofo Ankrah rejected claims that African teams underperformed at the expanded tournament, arguing that a series of narrow defeats showed how competitive the continent has become on the global stage.
“I don’t think Africa’s performance at the World Cup was bad. I disagree with those who say it was a disaster. Far from it,” he said.
He maintained that, results aside, African sides demonstrated they could go toe-to-toe with some of the strongest nations in world football.
Narrow margins against global heavyweights
Ampofo Ankrah cited several matches as evidence that African teams were on the brink of even greater breakthroughs.
He pointed to Cape Verde’s impressive performance against world champions Argentina, where the island nation pushed Lionel Messi’s side far harder than many had anticipated.
He also highlighted Egypt’s elimination on penalties by Australia, DR Congo’s slender defeat to England, and Cote d’Ivoire’s loss to Norway, describing these results as examples of how fine the margins had become at the top level.
“Yes, there were moments of lost concentration, but that happens to every great team. The margins were very small, and that’s encouraging,” he said.
For the NSA chief, these tight contests underscore his belief that African football is edging closer to parity with established football giants.
Morocco’s run and a shrinking gulf
Ampofo Ankrah reserved particular praise for Morocco, who once again reached the latter stages of the tournament, advancing to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by France.
Morocco had made history at the 2022 World Cup by becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals, and their deep run in 2026 was, in his view, further proof that African teams can consistently challenge at the business end of the competition.
According to him, the overall trend shows that the traditional hierarchy in world football is being steadily eroded.
“It’s not a big gulf anymore. We can learn from this experience, and Africa will come back much, much stronger,” he added.
Ampofo Ankrah argued that, with the exception of Tunisia, all of Africa’s representatives at the 2026 tournament fully justified their presence with performances that were competitive and disciplined, even if they ultimately fell short of the latter stages.
Lessons for Ghana from World Cup study tour
Beyond the on-pitch results, the NSA Director-General said Ghana had used the World Cup as an opportunity to study how major sporting events are organised and how facilities are managed.
He revealed that officials from the NSA travelled to the tournament to gather data on stadium infrastructure, operations and maintenance, in a move he described as unprecedented for the authority.
“For the first time, our regional directors, Monitoring and Evaluation team, and Estates Department officials went to collect data on the venues. We’re very proud of them because what they have gathered will help us improve sports facility management in Ghana,” he said.
Ampofo Ankrah believes the insights from this exercise will be vital as Ghana looks to upgrade its sporting infrastructure and better prepare its national teams for future global competitions.
He insisted that, with improved planning, facilities and continued exposure to top-level competition, African nations are well placed to convert narrow defeats into landmark victories at future World Cups.
