Ƙwallon ƙafa ta Afirka ta canja wuri sosai a manyan matakan duniya. A Gasar Kofin Duniya ta FIFA 2026, tara daga cikin ƙungiyoyin nahiyar goma sun wuce matakin ƙungiyoyi — bambanci mai ban mamaki da na 2018, lokacin da ƙungiyoyi biyar na Afirka duka aka kawar da su a matakin ƙungiyoyi, suna da nasara uku kawai daga cikin wasanni 15 da za a iya yi.
Kawai Tunisia ce ta kasa ci gaba wannan karon. Cape Verde, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Morocco, da South Africa sun ci gaba a matsayin na biyu a cikin ƙungiyoyinsu, yayin da Algeria, DR Congo, Ghana, da Senegal suka wuce a matsayi na uku. Waɗannan sakamakon suna wakiltar ci gaba a duk faɗin nahiyar, ba kawai nasarar ƙasa ɗaya ko biyu ba.
Tsarin Morocco na nasara
Babban daraja yana koma zuwa ga aikin asali da Morocco suka yi, wanda tafiyarsu zuwa mataki na ƙarshe a Gasar Kofin Duniya ta 2022 — ta hanyar kayar da Belgium, Spain, da Portugal kafin sun sha kaye a hannun France — ya nuna abin da zuba jari na dogon lokaci zai iya cimma. Kafin Qatar, Cameroon kawai a 1990, Senegal a 2002, da Ghana a 2010 sun kai matakin kusa da ƙarshe daga Afirka.
Tsohon kyaftin ɗin Nigeria, William Troost-Ekong, ya gaya wa BBC Sport Africa cewa Morocco sun buɗe hanya da waɗansu za su iya bi. "Morocco sun ƙirƙiri tsari na yadda za a yi, wanda shine shekaru da shekaru na saka hannun jari a cikin ƙwallon ƙafa na asali da makarantun horarwa," in ji shi. "Kayan aikin da suke da su, daidaito a duk faɗin ƙungiyoyinsu na shekaru, ina tsammanin wannan shine kawai tsarin da za a iya bi."
Shugaban Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, ya danganta wannan ingantaccen ci gaba na nahiyar da "aiki tuƙuru da zuba jari a haɓaka ƙwallon ƙafa na matasa, horarwa da gasar ƙwararru" a duk faɗin Afirka.
Tsarin ya taimaka — amma bai bayyana komai ba
Ƙara zuwa ƙungiyoyi 48 ya taimaka wa hanyar. Da yayinda manyan ƙungiyoyi 16 da suka saba ƙarfi yanzu an rarraba su a ƙungiyoyi 12 maimakon takwas, kuma ƙungiyoyin da suka zo na uku suma suna wuce, zagayen kawar da juna yanzu yana da ƙungiyoyi 32. Amma tsarin shi kaɗai bai bayyana dalilin da ya sa Afirka ta yi nasara yayin da Asiya ta yi ƙasa ba.
Ƙungiyoyin Asiya sun buga wasanni 27 na ƙungiyoyi kuma suka sami nasara uku kawai, da matsakaicin maki 0.67 a kowace wasa. Ƙasashen Afirka sun buga wasanni 30, sun lashe 10, tare da matsakaicin maki 1.33 a kowace wasa. A wasanni biyar masu mahimmanci kai da kai tsakanin ƙasashen Afirka da Asiya, Asiya bai lashe kowannensu ba, ta sha kaye a huɗu.
Sakamakon a cikin South Korea ya yi muni. Bayan mamaki ya ɓace a hannun South Africa a wasansu na ƙarshe na ƙungiyoyi, Shugaban South Korea Lee Jae Myung ya kira sakamakon "kuskure na tsari da ma'aikata" kuma ya nemi bincike na yau da kullun. Kocin ƙungiyar Hong Myung-bo ya yi murabus bayan 'yan awowi.
Gasar Turai da giɓin ci gaba
Kocin ƙungiyar Jordan, Jamal Sellami, ya nuna bambancin tsarin da ya fi muhimmanci. "Saboda ʼyan wasa na Afirka suna yin gasa a manyan gasar Turai," in ji shi, yana bayyana giɓin aiki. "Abu mafi muhimmanci ga ƙwallon ƙafa na Jordan, idan tana so ta sami damar cimma sakamako, shine a sami ʼyan wasa masu gasa a gasar da ta fi ƙarfi da ta yi gogayya."
Lambobi na goyan bayan mahawararsa. Morocco tana da 'yan wasa 20 daga cikin 26 suna buga a Turai, ciki har da 15 a cikin ɗaya daga cikin gasar biyar da ke sama. DR Congo tana da 'yan wasa 24 a Turai, yayin da har ma Egypt — ƙungiyar Afirka da ke da ƴan wasa kaɗan a Turai — tana da shida. Jordan, saɓanin haka, tana da ɗan wasa ɗaya kawai a Turai: mai kai hari Musa Al-Taamari, a kulob ɗin Faransa na Rennes.
Iraq da Uzbekistan kowanne yana da 'yan wasa uku a Turai; Iran tana da huɗu. Kocin Uzbekistan, Fabio Cannavaro, ya kasance mai sauƙi bayan ƙungiyarsa ta sha kaye a wasanni uku na ƙungiyoyi: "Baya ga Japan, Australia da watakila Iran, kowane ƙungiya tana bukatar ingantawa."
Hanyar Afirka zuwa gaba
Morocco, yanzu an aza su a matsayi na shida a cikin jerin sunayen FIFA — matsayi ɗaya sama da Netherlands — sun shiga zagayen 16 a matsayin zakaran Afirka, ko da yake taken Africa Cup of Nations nasu an tabbatar da shi ne kawai bayan Confederation of African Football ta soke sakamakon ƙarshen wasa bayan ficewar Senegal mai cike da rigima. South Africa an kawar da su a zagayen 32 ta kwallo a ƙarshe ta Canada.
Zakaran da ake da shi Argentina, waɗanda ke fuskantar Cape Verde a ranar Juma'a, suna a cikin rabin teburin da ke ƙunshe da ƙungiyoyi huɗu na Afirka kuma za su iya buga ɗaya a kowace zagaye a hanyarsu zuwa mataki na ƙarshe. Algeria na fuskantar Switzerland da Ghana na ganawa da Colombia, suna gabatar da damar gaske ta haɗuwar ƙungiyoyi biyu na Afirka a zagayen 16. Ga nahiyar, tambayar ba ta sake kasancewa ko Afirka ta cancanci wannan matakin ba — amma har nawa tafiya za ta iya ci gaba.
