FIFA President Gianni Infantino has addressed the CAF Executive Committee in Yaoundé and stressed the importance of taking an innovative approach to help African football reach its full potential. He also congratulated Egypt and Senegal on reaching the Africa Cup of Nations final and thanked CAF and host nation Cameroon for their efforts in organising the competition in a very difficult context.

"I’m happy to be here because I believe very much in Africa, in the potential of Africa and what we can do, all together, for African football," said President Infantino, who speaking at CAF's invitation.

"It’s important to be innovative; not just copying things that have been done in other parts of the world, but do something specific, something African that Africans can be proud of."

The FIFA President highlighted some recent examples of what can be achieved when FIFA and CAF work together, pointing out that solidarity payments had risen fivefold and the number of African slots at the FIFA World Cup would increase from five to 9.5 in 2026. "We have seen as well when it comes to the African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup how successful we have been in increasing revenues by 40% in a COVID-19 environment," he said, adding that this was "unique in the world of sport, not just in football".