After initially sending out tentative details around a potential African Super League, which would feature some of the best football clubs on the continent, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially announced that plans are in motion for the launch of the audacious project.

The formal announcement of the tournament was made by CAF president Patrice Motsepe from Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday following a general assembly by the guardian of African football.

One of the objectives of the proposed Super League, according to Motsepe, is to position the continent’s football in the global upper echelons by ensuring Africa’s best clubs can compete financially with the rest of the world.

“African clubs have never had a good foundation, financially, to be able to keep some of the best players in Africa, from an income perspective. Because they [the players] love the continent, they want to be in Africa,” explained Motsepe.

“So, the financial part of club football is a critical issue and what we’re hoping to do is improve the quality of football. We need to get the spectators excited to watch local football, because it is as good as watching the best football in the world,” the 60-year-old South African businessman continued.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Super League could be a double-edged sword for African football progression”

Motsepe said with continental club football in its current guise, the financial means do not justify the end product for club owners – hinting that the Super League will be vastly different.  

“One of the biggest problems of the top clubs in the current CAF Champions League is they pay a lot of money on transport, on accommodation, and when they win the money they get does not justify or compensate for the huge expenses they’ve undertaken,” Motsepe added while seated next to Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

A matter of money

Club owners have long bemoaned the costs of competing in the current CAF headline competition, the Champions League. The winners of the 2022 edition of Africa’s premier club showpiece pocketed $2.5-million (R41.5-million).

In contrast, Motsepe said the winner of the inaugural edition of the Super League may well walk away with a purse of $11.5-million (R189-million).

With the tournament touted to take off in August 2023, details around participating teams and where the exuberant prize money will be sourced from are still not available.

The impact on domestic leagues is also unclear, which recently led to the South African Football Players’ Union (Safpu) issuing a critical statement on the inception of the Super League.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Just what is the role of competitions such as the Cosafa Cup in the international game?”

“As Safpu, we do not accept that CAF can simply decide whatever it likes, fail to assess the consequences and ignore those most affected. We trust South Africans and the rest of Africa will come out against this destructive idea, for we know it will ruin professional football,” said Safpu president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe. 

CAF president Patrice Motsepe said the winner of the inaugural edition of the Africa Super League may walk away with $11.5-million (R189-million). (Photo: EPA / Legnan Koula)

“It can never be acceptable that decisions that will have devastating effects on professional soccer players in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent will be implemented without bothering to engage relevant stakeholders and or those on the receiving end.”

However, with the project a year away, Motsepe said they will engage with stakeholders to find common ground.

The tournament is expected to comprise 24 teams in its first year, in a promotion/relegation format. The first participants are to be sourced from three African regions, with each region contributing eight teams.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Banyana Banyana victory shows the sky is the limit for South Africa’s female footballers when properly resourced” 

As for the teams who are favourites to be included should the tournament succeed, Africa’s most successful club, Al Ahly, will be one. Champions League title-holders Wydad Casablanca, fellow Moroccan club Raja Casablanca, as well as Zamalek from Egypt and Tunisia’s Esperance, seem certain, too, to be among the eight competitors from the north.

Five-time African champions TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo are sure to be among the west-centre selections, while 2016 African champions Mamelodi Sundowns are likely to make the cut, too. DM