- The league will involve 24 teams from across eight regions
- The winner receives USD11.5mn cash prize
- There will be relegation and promotion play-offs
After flopping in Europe following the mass opposition from fans, FIFA has helped launched the Super League in Africa, with a promised prize purse of USD11.5mn (Approximately Sh1.4bn) for the winners.
The Super League, which is scheduled to start in 2023, was launched in Arusha, Tanzania, on the sidelines of the CAF General Assembly. It was launched by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino alongside CAF boss Patrice Motsepe.
It will involve the crème de la crème of clubs from across the continent. A total of 24 clubs will play the inaugural edition, eight each picked from three regions, the North, Central/West and Southern/Eastern.
Motsepe has described the Africa Super League as a historical gamechanger that will make African football globally competitive and self-sustaining.
Most exciting projects in African football
“This is one of the most exciting projects in the history of African football and will significantly contribute to the development and growth of the quality and competitiveness of football in Africa,” said the South African football administrator.
His sentiments were shared by Infantiono, who had earlier on said FIFA was not involved in the birth of the European Super League which was fronted by some of Europe’s big clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.
“As FIFA President, I am happy to witness such a historic moment of this exciting football project to boost and improve club football in Africa. African club football needs to be brought to the next level and to do that, it is important to be innovative and to have new ideas, while fully respecting the existing institutional framework. The Africa Super League, built within the international football pyramid structure, is a project which will make African club football shine in Africa and beyond,” he said.
Motsepe says the Africa Super League would contribute to ensuring that football on the African Continent is managed and operated at the same professional, ethical and governance level as UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and other Confederations.
Total of USD 100m for the Super League
There will be a total of USD100mn for the Super League.
According to CAF, some of the funding from the Africa Super League will be used to allocate USD 1 million per annum to each of CAF’s 54 Member Countries, which is a total of USD 54 million per annum to develop football in all the African countries.
CAF will also receive USD 50 million per annum to develop football for boys and girls, to employ world-class staff, to improve and to make all its other competitions attractive and appealing to football spectators, TV viewers, sponsors and other partners.
The Africa Super League will support the growth of club football, the construction and maintenance of football infrastructure and facilities, as well as the training and the retention of football talent on the African Continent.
Africa’s most valuable football club competition, the Africa Super League, will officially kick off in August 2023 and will involve 24 clubs from 16 countries across the Continent.
The Super League is scheduled to run for 10 months and is scheduled to start in August and go through to May.
Fate of Champions League, Confederation Cup unclear
However, it is still unclear what the fate of the other two interclub competitions, the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup will be, while there have also been concerns of the effect it will have for local leagues.
However, some clubs have welcome the new league, saying it will offer clubs a chance to make more money.
“Football is about business and every time more money is coming in this is very positive. As a Club we are very happy that the Africa Super League has now been launched and we can’t wait for it to start next year,” said Barbra Gonzalez, the Simba SC Chief Executive Officer.
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