Africa’s record-breaking FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign will come under detailed review at the CAF Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde, with five coaches who played leading roles in the tournament joining FIFA chief Arsène Wenger for a high-level technical panel.
Mohamed Ouahbi, Pedro Brito “Bubista”, Hossam Hassan, Sébastien Desabre and Carlos Queiroz will share their experiences of a World Cup in which a record 10 African nations took part and nine reached the knockout stages.
The Technical Review Panel will be held as part of the CAF Strategy Conference, which takes place in Sal, Cabo Verde, from 7-9 October 2026. The event brings together coaches from CAF’s 54 Member Associations, alongside football leaders, legends and technical experts, to examine the future development and global competitiveness of African football.
Wenger, FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, will provide a wider perspective on the tournament after leading FIFA’s Technical Study Group during the 2026 World Cup. The group reviewed all 104 matches, assessing the tactical and technical developments that influenced the competition.
Ouahbi will discuss Morocco’s run to the quarter-finals, a campaign that further underlined the Atlas Lions’ development among the leading national teams in world football.
Cabo Verde’s former coach Pedro Brito “Bubista” will also take part in the discussion in his home country. He will reflect on the island nation’s historic first appearance at the World Cup and its progress into the knockout stages.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan will bring his perspective on the Pharaohs’ campaign after guiding them to their first World Cup victory and a place in the knockout rounds. Hassan is one of the most prominent figures in Egyptian football and will offer insight from his experience of the tournament.
Desabre will discuss DR Congo’s return to the World Cup after a 52-year absence. The Leopards advanced to the Round of 32, marking another significant stage in the revival of the national side.
Queiroz, who was in charge of Ghana at the tournament, will complete the coaching line-up on the panel. He will share lessons from another World Cup campaign during a coaching career that has taken him across several continents and national teams.
The panel will allow participants to hear directly from coaches who experienced the demands of international football at the highest level during the 2026 tournament.
Topics under discussion are expected to include tactical trends, preparations for major tournaments, squad management, coaching leadership, player development and how teams adapt during matches. The demands of competing consistently with the strongest national teams in the world will also be examined.
CAF says the session will not focus solely on the results achieved by African teams.
Instead, the experiences of the coaches are expected to contribute to a wider discussion on how lessons from the 2026 World Cup can be shared among CAF’s 54 Member Associations. The aim is to use those lessons to strengthen coaching structures, improve preparation and help African national teams become more competitive.
The technical review will be one of the key sessions at the CAF Strategy Conference as African football reflects on its strongest collective World Cup performance and considers how to build on the progress made before the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
