Hayatou sets World Cup semi-final target for Black Stars

CAF boss Issa Hayatou, has urged the five African teams at the 2014 FIFA World Cup including the Black Stars of Ghana to strive to reach the last four. No African team has ever gone beyond the quarter-final stage of the global football extravaganza.

But Hayatou said a last-four berth at the June 12 to July 13 event by any of Africa’s flagbearers in Brazil would be an icing on the cake.

He said this would be for the successes African football has recorded, especially in the past 26 years of CAF.

“What will make me happy now, after all these achievements, will be to get even more successes for African football,” CAF’s media outlet quoted Hayatou to have said.

“We continue with massive strides on all fronts of football development and, going into the 2014 FIFA World Cup, I do not see why Africa cannot have one or two of our representatives reach the semi-final or indeed even the final of the World Cup during my time as President.”

Africa’s five representatives at the tournament are the Desert Foxes of Algeria, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana’s Black Stars and Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Only three African teams-Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal - have ever reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

This was since Africa’s first representation by Egypt at the 1934 World Cup in Italy.