Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hopes the World Cup can create a football boon across Africa.

He has a long and powerful personal connection to Africa, having done more than any other major coach to discover, and promote at the top level, African players.

"The World Cup will make a difference, it will create a boom for football here," Wenger told The Times. "The best thing is to follow it up and give players the chance to develop and to practise in a structured environment.

"The problem for African football is the structure, because structure is linked to the economic potential of a country, but I believe Africa is moving forward much quicker than they think in Europe. In 25 years there will be two billion people in the continent and there's a quick [economic] growth.

"I'm convinced that will be followed by more structured football. The potential has always been here but Europe has always taken the best players out of here. The target for the future is for Africa to keep its stars and for the stars to have the chance to win big championships here."