Dominant on the continental club scene, Maghreb football is also confirming its strength at the national team level. The 2026 World Cup qualifiers are a perfect illustration of this. Of the nine African direct qualification spots, four have already been snatched up by nations from the north of the continent: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt. These four teams secured their tickets even before the final day of the qualifiers.

This dominance of Maghreb football is not new. The history of African football is closely linked to that of these pioneering nations. In 1934, Egypt was the first African team to participate in a World Cup finals. Thirty-six years later, at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Morocco became the first African team to earn a point in the competition. In 1978, in Argentina, Tunisia achieved a historic feat by giving Africa its first-ever victory in a World Cup finals.

While Cameroon made history in 1990 by becoming the first African country to reach the quarter-finals, Morocco, for its part, reached a new milestone by reaching the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, an unprecedented feat for the continent.

These remarkable performances are no accident. They reflect the massive investments made by Maghreb countries in football development, particularly in infrastructure, training, and the professionalization of clubs. Today, several African teams choose to play their home matches on Moroccan pitches, a shining symbol of the kingdom's technological and logistical advances in sports infrastructure.

With this momentum, Morocco has naturally established itself as a preferred destination for hosting major competitions. As co-host of the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal, the Cherifian kingdom regularly hosts African youth and women's football tournaments.

Thus, the joint qualification of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt for the 2026 World Cup not only confirms the supremacy of Maghreb football, but also the success of a model based on vision, rigor and sustainable investment.