FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, will lead a panel of coaches behind Africa’s record-breaking performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the CAF Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde next week.
The Confederation of African Football disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Friday, announcing that Wenger would be joined by coaches including Cabo Verde’s Bubista, Egypt’s Hossam Hassan, Morocco’s Mohamed Ouahbi and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Sébastien Desabre.
CAF said the conference, scheduled for October 7 to 9, would bring together coaches from the continent’s 54 Member Associations, football legends and other stakeholders to discuss the development of African football.
According to the statement, the panel discussion led by Wenger will focus on the 2026 World Cup, where “Africa saw a record-breaking nine of its 10 participants advance to the Knockout Stages of the Competition.”
“FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development and former Arsenal mentor Arsene Wenger will join some of the Coaches who were behind the success of Africa’s National Teams at the FIFA World Cup 2026, including Cabo Verde’s Bubista, Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and DR Congo’s Sébastien Desabre, in what is expected to be an insightful panel discussion at the CAF Strategy Conference next week,” CAF said.
The football body added that the conference would be held in Cabo Verde from October 7 to 9 and would “bring together Coaches from Africa’s 54 Member Associations, football legends and stakeholders under one roof discussing ways to advance football development in Africa.”
CAF TV will broadcast several of the sessions, while other discussions involving coaches and technical officials will be held behind closed doors.
“CAF TV will broadcast several of the sessions in Cabo Verde, while the remainder of the discussions between coaches and technicians will be behind closed doors,” the statement said.
“CAF will publish the times and programme of the events that will be beamed live in due course.”
Wenger’s panel will bring together coaches whose teams produced notable campaigns at the 2026 World Cup.
CAF described Bubista, who led Cabo Verde at their first World Cup, as “the man who led Cabo Verde’s heroics at the global finals”, adding that he had “since become a household name.”
“Back in his home country, he will be sharing insights behind his team’s performance at the tournament,” CAF said.
Ouahbi, meanwhile, guided Morocco to the quarter-finals, with CAF noting that he helped the Atlas Lions “again consolidate their reputation as one of the leading sides in the world.”
Hassan, the former Egypt striker who is now in charge of the country’s senior national team, also featured prominently in Africa’s World Cup campaign.
CAF said Hassan “led The Pharaohs to their first win at the FIFA World Cup and was instrumental in their run that included a nail-bitting clash with Argentina, where they led by two goals until the final stages of the match.”
Desabre also brings a significant story to the discussions after guiding DR Congo back to the global tournament following a 52-year absence.
“Desabre coached the Democratic Republic of Congo, who made a return to the global stage after a 52-year absence, and guided them to the round of 32,” CAF said.
The conference is expected to use the experiences of the coaches and technical officials to examine the lessons from Africa’s 2026 World Cup campaign and ways of translating the continent’s progress into sustained development.
CAF had earlier said the wider conference would focus on strengthening football development and sustainability across Africa, while analysing the performances of the continent’s 10 World Cup representatives ahead of the 2030 tournament.
The event will be held in Cabo Verde, whose own World Cup campaign was among the notable stories of the 2026 tournament.
