The finals of the just ended Under-17 FIFA World Cup was played by two African countries - Nigeria and Mali. Nigeria won the trophy for a record fifth time. This is something to be celebrated. The celebration is however dogged by the troubling fact that the farthest an African country has gone in the senior FIFA World Cup has been the quarter finals, which was first done by Cameroon in 1990. The question this raises is why is it that two African countries could reach the final of the Under-17 World Cup but none could move farther than the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup. Where do African countries go wrong between the Under-17 division and the senior division of the World Cup? An honest response to this question is critical to the future of football in Africa.
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