#cape-verde

#cape-verde

Roberto Lopes, who was born in Dublin to a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother, made his debut for the country in 2019, having previously made one appearance for the Republic of Ireland Under-19s in 2011. The 33-year-old joined Shamrock Rovers - who have won the League of Ireland Premier Division a record 22 times - in 2017 and has made 269 appearances for the club, scoring 21 goals. He also captained Rovers to their first domestic double since 1987 last year.

For much of its history since its discovery by the Portuguese in the mid-15th century, the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of west Africa served as a hub of the international slave trade, with Africans forcibly transported to marketplaces before being distributed across the Americas and Europe. Now, almost 150 years since slavery was abolished in Cape Verde, and just over 50 years since independence from Portugal, Pedro Fernandes Lopes wants the country to become a beacon for the free movement of human and financial capital across the African diaspora.

The draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup will be held in Washington DC next week (5 December), and while supporters of teams that qualified will be anxious to know who they will play, most of the world's population will not be represented. China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan - five of the planet's six most populous countries - have all missed out on the tournament co-hosted by the Canada, Mexico and the United States next June and July.

Everyone loves an underdog, and for this issue we've told two of the year's most unlikely success stories: village club Mjallby becoming champions of Sweden and Cape Verde qualifying for their first-ever World Cup. You'd have got long odds on Morocco triumphing at the recent Under-20 World Cup too, and we take a closer look at their shock win as well.

Cape Verde qualified for the FIFA 2026 World Cup on Monday, beating Eswatini 3-0 in their last group match to top the standings ahead of Cameroon and complete a fairytale campaign. The wind-swept West African archipelago overcame first-half nerves to win in the capital, Praia, with second-half goals from Dailon Livramento, Willy Semedo and veteran Stopira, and book a first-ever appearance at the finals.

Cape Verde has scored well on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with figures above average compared to African nations. This shows notable progress in areas like poverty reduction, education, and health.