Africa Was Supposed to Be the Future of Football. So Why Does the Future Keep Passing Us By?
As the FIFA 2026 World Cup unfolds in the U.S.,Canada, and Mexico, an uncomfortable truth is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Football likes to sell itself as the world's most democratic sport. A ball, an open field and a dream. That is the mythology. That is the romance. The reality is rather nuanced. Modern football is becoming an industrial enterprise, and like every other industry, the countries with the deepest pockets are pulling away from the rest. Make no mistake. Talent still matters. Passion still matters. History still matters. But money matters more. Take a look at the emerging football powers of the twenty-first century. Australia was once viewed as an outlier, a sporting nation whose interests lay elsewhere. Today, it has become a consistent presence on the world stage. The country's investment in sports science, coaching, youth academies and infrastructure has transformed it into a serious football nation. Then there is Qatar. A country with a populatio...
