Newly elected President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone B, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau believes Africa’s next football kings will come from WAFU B.
Gusau who is also the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), succeeds Ghana’s Kurt Okraku following his decision to resign, citing the demands of his recent elevation to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Council.
WAFU Zone B, which comprises Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo and Benin, has stood the test of time as the heartbeat of youth football on the continent.
Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have won the FIFA U17 World Cup five times, while Ghana’s Black Starlets have lifted it thrice, where they also won the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2009.
According to Gusau, there should be a necessity to align with CAF’s vision of expanding regional competitions, especially at youth level, and nurturing future stars through regular grassroots involvement at the local level to achieve a goal.
“The focus will be on more competitions, especially at youth level, to align with CAF’s objectives. One of CAF’s main goals is to increase the number of competitions in our regions while encouraging grassroots participation,” he explained, as quoted by Soccernet Nigeria.
“There is absolutely no doubt that despite the size of WAFU B… football resides here,” Gusau declared, referring to the 2023 U20 AFCON, where four of the eight quarter-finalists are from the region.
Gusau also acknowledged the financial implications of expanding tournaments and promised a focused funding drive.
“We will need to find the money for more competitions… By investing in young players, we will be strengthening the conveyor belt that will continue to produce talents for the West African, nay African game.
“We must find a way to maintain and even raise the level of our performances in major competitions, in order to sustain our pride of place in the international game," he concluded.
By: Pascal Amoah
