Sports
A look at Africa’s chances at FIFA Club World Cup
With the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup soon entering the exciting quarter-finals stage, an increased in global attention will be on the African game, as four strong African contenders prepare to represent the continent at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
The new and expanded version of the global club showpiece will take place in the United States between June 14 and July 13.
Reigning African champions Al Ahly SC, Tunisian giants ES Tunis, Morocco’s Wydad AC and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa are the four clubs set to compete in the 32-club competition featuring some of the best clubs in world football.
CAFOnline takes a look at how the four representatives might fare at the much-anticipated competition.
Al Ahly SC – Egypt
The African champions will be making their 10th appearance at FIFA Club World Cup, with an impressive record of three bronze medals from their previous nine showings.
Guided by the 64-year-old Marcel Kohler who has enjoyed great success with the club, bagging two successive TotalEnergies CAF Champions League titles with the Red Devils, a lot will be expected of the club heading to the US firmly carrying the title of African champions.
The Egyptians face a mammoth task, having been drawn in Group A along with CONMEBOL COPA Libertadores champions SE Palmeiras (Brazil), FC Benfica (Portugal) as well as a Lionel Messi’s inspired Inter Miami CF (USA).
The 12-time African champions will be banking on the experience of their veteran campaigners such as Hussein El Shahat, Mohammed Al Shenawy as well as Mohamed Hany who have been highly instrumental in their most recent silverware collection.
Espérance Sportive de Tunis – Tunisia
Tunisian giants, Espérance Sportive de Tunis are headed to their fourth FIFA Club World Cup, having appeared at the competition’s 2011, 2018 and 2019 editions.
The Tunisians are yet to make a mark at the global showpiece and will be looking at stamping their authority as one of the best teams from the continent.
Last season’s TotalEnergies CAF Champions League runners-up are drawn in Group D alongside former European champions Chelsea FC, Brazil’s CR Flamengo as well as Club Leon of Mexico.
Captained by Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida who marshals the defence, the Tunisians will be relying on the trickery and speed of their attack that will be led by the likes of Youcef Belaili and newly signed Elias Mokwana.
Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa
This year’s edition marks Mamelodi Sundowns’ second FIFA World Cup appearance after their 2026 debut in Japan.
The South Africans find themselves in a tough Group F alongside German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense FC of Brazil as well as Ulsan HD of Korea.
Affectionately known as the Brazilians for their enterprising style of play, the stage is set for the former African champions to shine under their new coach, Miguel Cardoso.
Key to Sundowns’ success will be their South American signings, Lucas Ribeiro Costa (Brazil) Marcelo Allende (Chile) as well as Lucas Suarez (Argentina) who seemed to have gelled well at the club.
Wydad AC – Morocco
Proud hosts of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and the FIFA World Cup 2030, Morocco will be fully behind their club Wydad Athletic Club when they make their first FIFA Club World Cup appearance.
Having successfully stamped their authority as one of Africa’s best clubs, the Moroccans will be using the global showpiece to grow their presence at the world stage.
Drawn in a tough Group G along with English champions Manchester City, UAE’s Al Ain FC as well as Italian giants Juventus, the Moroccans have a tough group stage assignment ahead of them.
Currently undergoing a rebuilding phase under former Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena, the FIFA Club World Cup presents an exciting challenge for the club, as they look to rebuild in what looks to be a new era for the former African champions.
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
