Journey to Africa

There will be 299 of them – 299 players defending the colours of the 13 UEFA member associations that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the first to be held in Africa.

The traditional sporting dimension of the event will be accompanied by another, historic aspect, as Africa has been looking forward to this moment for a long time – and has had to wait until the 19th World Cup to see its efforts and passion finally rewarded.

For UEFA, the location of this World Cup is somewhat symbolic, in that it will produce a reversal of the usual situation. For a change, it is European players who will be travelling to Africa, and European fans who will be watching on television a competition being held on African soil.

It is a fair exchange for a continent that, year after year, sends its best footballers to Europe, with around 500 joining European clubs every season.

These players make an important contribution to the quality of play that our club sides are able to offer their fans. Now, we are pleased to be able to return the favour by sending our best players in the other direction, and to give back something, small though it may be, of what the African continent so generously gives us.

Looking beyond the summer, I really hope that the World Cup will give a new, sustainable boost to African football, in particular by helping it to raise the appeal of its national championships. It is, I believe, important to offer African players an alternative to leaving, by giving them the opportunity to play football in their home continent, under attractive conditions.

Football can only benefit from a better balance of forces, which will ensure its vitality in the long term. I am sure that our teams will do their bit to give African football that boost, and, with this in mind, I wish the best of luck to the teams of Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland (listed in alphabetical order, not order of preference ...)!