The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has launched a new league called the African Super league. This is the beginning of a new dawn in African football as CAF is investing a 100 million dollar prize money in the competition. Such heavy investment will absolutely improve the status and participation in African football.
The good news was announced by CAF president, Patrice Motsepe and FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. The league is structured to have 24 teams from 16 countries, with each country having a maximum of 3 clubs.
“The African 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,” said Motsepe at the league’s launch. The league is scheduled to commence in August 2023. Each participant will receive a sum of 2.5 million dollars each to upfront, this is to cater for expenses.
“One of the biggest problems of the top African clubs participating in the current Champions League is they spend a lot of money on transport and accommodation,” said Motsepe.
“And when they win money, what they get does not justify or compensate for the huge expenses they’ve undertaken. So for the first 24 clubs that we want to be part of the African Super League, we will give them a contribution every year of $2.5 million to use,” he added.
Many critics showed their displeasure with the newly established league. The reason for their objection had to do with the funding of the league. CAF’s reserve deteriorated from 94 million to 50 million dollars in a recent audit, this is why the critics questioned their ability to fund the league.
According to Motsepe the league will thrive because the funding will come from foreign investors, sponsorships and revenue returns. He also believes the league will generate a revenue of 200 million dollars annually. This will catapult its ranking to one of the ten best leagues in the world.
“We believe we can change the face of African football,” Motsepe said, repeating there was huge interest from commercial partners. “We are raising $100 million, and we are confident that it will make a huge contribution in improving the quality and the standard of African football.” in his words.
Nevertheless, the details of finance and sponsorships are not yet equivocal as meetings are still being held. Many African football fans are looking forward to this new development. It is high time African football is put on the world stage like its European counterpart.
On the whole, a 100-million-dollar investment in this new league will spark interest and bring lots of attention to Africa. Ultimately, it will contribute significantly to the African economy, whilst improving the sport status of the continent.