For much of the last century, African football has been defined by talent.
The continent has produced some of the world’s greatest players, inspired generations of supporters, and contributed immensely to the global game. Yet despite its enormous influence on the pitch, Africa continues to struggle to capture and retain the full value that football creates. While African talent powers leagues, clubs and competitions around the world, the institutions that develop that talent often remain under-resourced, fragmented and disconnected from one another.
This contradiction has shaped much of our work over the last decade.
Why does a continent that exports so much football talent invest so little in football itself? Why do communities that produce world-class players continue to face challenges accessing quality facilities, education, healthcare, financing, technology and professional opportunities? Why does so much of the value created by African football leave the continent while the foundations of the game remain underdeveloped?
These questions eventually led us to develop the concept of Football as Infrastructure (“FaI”). Download the Football As Infrastructure White Paper.
Football as Infrastructure (FaI) is built on a simple premise: football should not be viewed solely as a sport or entertainment product. It should be understood as a form of social, economic and community infrastructure. Like roads, energy systems, schools, hospitals and digital networks, football connects people, creates opportunities, facilitates economic activity and contributes to broader development outcomes.
This may seem like an unusual comparison at first, but consider how we think about other forms of infrastructure. We do not build roads for development. We invest in roads because roads are recognised as essential infrastructure that enables trade, mobility and economic activity. The development outcomes follow from the investment. The same is true of energy, telecommunications and transport networks.
Football deserves to be viewed through a similar lens.
For decades, African football has been expected to deliver development outcomes while remaining chronically underinvested. We have asked football to keep young people engaged, improve health outcomes, strengthen communities, create jobs and promote education. Yet we have not invested proportionately in the clubs, academies, coaches, facilities, governance systems and institutions that make these outcomes possible.
Football cannot sustainably deliver development if football itself remains underdeveloped.
It was this realisation that led us to rethink not only our approach, but also the language we use.
When we first introduced the initiative in November 2022, it was called the Africa Football for Development Network. The name reflected our belief that football could be used as a tool to address broader social and development challenges. That belief remains central to our work and continues to inspire many outstanding organisations across the continent.
However, over time, we came to recognise that the phrase “Football for Development” unintentionally limited the conversation.
It suggested that football’s primary value lay in its ability to serve other sectors. Football became a means to somebody else’s objective rather than a sector worthy of investment in its own right.
The more we engaged with clubs, academies, coaches and grassroots organisations across Africa, the clearer it became that football itself needed development. The institutions underpinning the game required better governance, stronger business models, improved infrastructure, enhanced technology, access to finance and greater investment. At the same time, strengthening these institutions could generate benefits that extended far beyond football itself.
Development was no longer something happening through football alone. Development was also needed in football.
The decision to evolve from the Africa Football for Development Network to the Africa Football Development Network reflects this broader shift in thinking.
When football is treated as infrastructure rather than charity, investment follows. When investment follows, football becomes better equipped to contribute to education, health, employability, tourism, technology, social cohesion and community development.
This is the intellectual foundation upon which the Africa Football Development Network (“AFDN”) is built.
Our vision is to create a platform that connects grassroots football organisations, academies, clubs, leagues, researchers, policymakers, investors and development partners across Africa. By facilitating collaboration, knowledge sharing, capacity development, technology adoption and resource mobilisation, we aim to strengthen the institutions that form the foundation of African football.
Today, the network comprises more than 500 member organisations across more than 20 African countries and is now migrating to a new digital home built to serve them better. Yet our ambition extends far beyond membership growth.
We envision AFDN becoming the connective tissue of African football’s development ecosystem: a platform where organisations learn from one another, where innovations can be tested and scaled, where investment opportunities can be identified, and where the broader value created by football can be measured and demonstrated.
This is particularly important at a time when football is increasingly intersecting with sectors such as health, education, workforce development, tourism, climate action and digital innovation. The future of African football will depend not only on producing talented players, but also on building stronger institutions, more sustainable business models and deeper connections with the societies football serves.
The launch of AFDN marks an important milestone in that journey.
For decades, African football has proven its talent to the world. The next challenge is to strengthen the systems that support that talent. If Football as Infrastructure (FaI) provides the framework, then AFDN is one of the mechanisms through which that vision will be realised.
The future of African football will not be built by individual organisations working alone.
It will be built through networks, partnerships and institutions capable of transforming football from a source of talent into a platform for sustainable development, economic growth and African agency.
If you run an academy, club or football related organisation anywhere on the continent, we invite you to join the network. If you are an investor, policymaker or development partner who believes African football deserves to be treated as a platform for social and economic transformation, we invite you to build with us. And if you are already a member and haven’t yet, complete your migration to our new platform at https://afdn.footballfoundation.africa.
Welcome to the Africa Football Development Network. ⚽🌍
Signed.
Brian Wesaala – Founder & President, The Football Foundation for Africa (FFA)
Tshiamo Molefe – Executive Director, The Football Foundation for Africa (FFA)
Christopher Pinderhughes – Head of Strategy & Growth, AFDN
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