"African football must make a choice! Either we keep our players in Africa with the will power of reaching one day the top of the international competitions and restore to African people a dignity that they long for ; or we let out best elements leave their countries, thus remaining the eternal suppliers of raw material to the premium countries, and renounce, in this way, to any ambition. When the rich countries take away from us, also by naturalisation, our best elements, we should not expect any chivalrous behaviour on their part to help African football."
- Ydnekatchew Tessema, former president of CAF