Three weeks ago, Chelsea Football Club defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, bringing an end to the newly revamped competition that took place across 11 states in the United States. For four weeks, 32 teams from six confederations competed for the prize of being recognised as club world champions. Of the 32 participants, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) presented four teams to represent Africa based on their success in the CAF Champions League and their ranking in the CAF’s four-year club performance system during the qualification period, which was tracked from 2021 to 2024.
Traditionally, North Africa has been the power base of African football, and it showed in the team selection for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Perennial winners, Al Ahly, secured their place courtesy of winning the 2020/21 CAF Champions League. Widely regarded as Africa’s most decorated club, the Egyptian giants are regarded as a model of success on the continent. The Moroccan team, Wydad Athletic Club, also qualified for the tournament because of its triumph in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League. Other qualifiers like Tunisian team, Espérance de Tunis, and South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns, earned qualification based on their consistent performance in CAF’s four-year performance index.
All four teams arrived in the United States carrying the hopes of the African continent, but despite spirited displays and brave performances, none of them made it out of the group stage, ending African participation in the mundial at the first hurdle. Al Ahly finished bottom of group A with two points, Espérance finished third in group D with three points, Wydad Athletic Club didn’t record any points in group G, while Mamelodi Sundowns agonisingly finished third with four points, just one point behind second-placed Fluminense.
While all these teams are giants in their respective local leagues, on the global stage, they remain underdogs in a largely hierarchical global footballing system. Still, the problems extend beyond their place in the hierarchy. For one, a cursory look through the teams reveals an issue of stability. All of the African representatives arrived in the United States of America with managers who had barely spent one year at the helm of affairs. Mamelodi Sundowns’ Miguel Cardoso was employed in December 2024, Espérance rehired Maher Kanzari for his third spell as head coach in March 2025, while José Riveiro and Mohamed Amine Benhache joined Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club, respectively, less than three weeks before the Club World Cup started.
It is symptomatic of the lack of long-term planning that continues to plague African football. Players, coaches, and members of the technical backroom are often signed on short-term contracts that don’t allow them to plan appropriately for their future while significantly hampering the club’s ability to forecast how it might function in the long term. Football is a sport largely defined by tactical ideas and nuances, and the time needed to get the team up to speed in their systems wasn’t afforded to the majority of these managers, their backroom team, and the playing squad.
It’s no surprise that Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi Sundowns performed the strongest of the African teams in the competition, having been in his job longer and working with his players for more than six months as of the start of the tournament. While there might be gaps in the level of tactical refinement, there is clear proof that these teams can compete at a global level if players are given enough time to buy into specific coaching ideas and patterns.
Another issue that sorely needs to be addressed is the issue of fatigue. More than ever, football players are expected to play a large number of games per season. Truth be told, it’s a global problem, but in Africa, the issue is exacerbated thanks to a lack of funding compared to European, North American, and South American football. The infrastructural support that those teams receive is light years ahead of what is obtainable in Africa, where players go from club football to national team duties with little respite. Just two weeks before the competition started, Mamelodi Sundowns completed the second leg of the CAF Champions League final, losing to Egyptian side, Pyramids, in a tense, emotionally draining match-up.
Indicative of the capitalist-led direction of modern football, it’s bound to affect African teams who intend to compete at the highest level globally. “You are talking about teams that have just completed their domestic leagues, who were playing continental club championships,” Kgosana Masaseng, the general secretary of Fifpro Africa, said in an interview with The Guardian. “Players were also representing their national teams. So the schedule has been demanding. It has taken a toll and, now, there’s no break; it’s straight away into another competition.”
While teams from other confederations have larger and deeper squads to navigate the potential burnout and fatigue, African teams often had to field their best players over and over to maximise the earning potential that the Club World Cup afforded them. This led to some uninspiring performances and in-game collapses, such as Al Ahly’s heart-wrenching 4-4 draw against Porto – Porto equalised in the 89th minute of the game – when a victory would have put them through to the next round of the competition.
Ultimately, the ball is in the court of African teams, their management, and the national federations regarding important details such as coaching direction and the institutional support needed to deliver good showings at international competitions. There is a clear path forward towards sustainable development and progress as envisioned by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, which laid the foundation for its men’s national team to reach the semi-final at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, a first for an African team. Investments in its national league, its age-grade system, and a focus on developing a cohesive coaching ideology helped the North African nation stand out. It’s an approach that club football in Africa needs to emulate as the countdown to the 2029 Fifa Club World Cup begins.
By the Numbers: African Clubs at 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
4 teams: Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Esperance Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Sundowns: 4 points, best African group finish.
Wydad: 0 wins, outscored 9–2.
0 advanced past group stage.
2 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses total.
9 points combined from all African clubs.
$45M+ earned in prize money.
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