Ghana joins other African federations to reject UEFA president’s claim that some matches are ‘meaningless’

Nii Ayitey Brown 19:03 - 14 June 2026

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GFA logo and UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin

Football associations from Ghana and several African and global nations have jointly rejected comments made by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin describing expanded FIFA World Cup matches as “meaningless.” The federations say every World Cup match carries historic importance and represents years of sacrifice, national pride, and football development across participating countries.

Ghana and several African football federations have rejected UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin’s claim that some FIFA World Cup matches are “meaningless.”
The federations say every World Cup game represents national pride, years of preparation, and major sacrifice from players, coaches, and fans.
They argue that expanded World Cup participation strengthens global football inclusion and should be respected rather than undermined.

The Ghana Football Association has joined several African football nations in strongly rejecting comments by Aleksander Čeferin over the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing his remarks as dismissive of the efforts of put in by participating countries.

In a joint statement released by multiple football federations, Ghana and 12 other nations expressed “profound disappointment” over recent remarks by the UEFA president, who reportedly criticized FIFA’s expanded 48-team World Cup format and described several matches in the tournament as “meaningless.”

Ghana was joined by federations from Senegal, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Curaçao, Uzbekistan, Haiti and Republic of the Congo in defending the value of every World Cup match.

“For our countries, there is no such thing as a meaningless FIFA World Cup match,” the statement said.

The federations stressed that qualifying for the World Cup is far more than just making up numbers in a tournament. They described qualification as “a historic achievement and the realization of a dream shared by generations.”

The statement added that dismissing matches involving smaller or emerging football nations amounted to ignoring the efforts, sacrifices, and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football officials, and fans around the world.

For Ghana, the expansion has already had major significance. The Ghana national football team secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup, marking the country’s fifth appearance at football’s biggest tournament after previous appearances in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022.

The expanded format also increased Africa’s guaranteed slots from 5 to 9, creating more opportunities for nations across the continent to compete on the global stage.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly defended the format, arguing that global football growth depends on giving more nations access to elite competitions.

The federations also pushed back against what they described as football elitism.

“Football does not belong to a select group of privileged leaders. Its strength lies in its universality,” the statement said.

They further argued that every nation that qualifies deserves equal respect because qualification is earned on merit, not granted by status or reputation.

“Every team has qualified on merit. Every match counts,” the statement added.

From Ghana’s historic 2010 quarterfinal run to Morocco’s groundbreaking semi-final finish in 2022, African nations have repeatedly shown they can challenge football’s established powers when given the opportunity.

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