{"id":45549,"date":"2023-10-23T15:06:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T15:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?p=45549"},"modified":"2023-10-23T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T13:54:58","slug":"the-african-football-league-is-finally-kicking-off-but-is-it-a-good-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/the-african-football-league-is-finally-kicking-off-but-is-it-a-good-idea","title":{"rendered":"The African Football League is finally kicking off. But is it a good idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Cape Town, South Africa \u2013 The inaugural season of the African Football League kicks off on Friday with Tanzania\u2019s Simba SC hosting Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly in the first leg of their quarterfinal.<\/b><\/p>\n

The new continental club competition \u2013 spearheaded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the sport\u2019s global governing body, FIFA \u2013 was originally supposed to feature Africa\u2019s 24 best clubs in a mini-league and then knockout format.<\/p>\n

But numerous complications have seen the number of teams cut to eight in a knockout format in its first year: the other teams are Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Petro de Luanda (Angola), TP Mazembe (DRC), Es Tunis (Tunisia), Enyimba International (Nigeria) and Wydad Casablanca (Morocco).<\/p>\n

Teams for the inaugural edition were selected based on rankings points, with no more than one representative per country.<\/p>\n

And while CAF had initially promised $100m in prize money with $11.5m for the winner of the competition, each team will be guaranteed $1m for taking part in the inaugural season, and the overall winner will walk away with $4m \u2013 still a hefty sum, equal to what the CAF Champions League winners receive while playing much fewer games.<\/p>\n

The organisers are adamant that the AFL, which will run concurrently with CAF\u2019s Champions League, is a precursor to the fully fledged AFL competition next season, which will feature the 22 highest-ranked football African clubs.<\/p>\n

CAF and FIFA say the AFL will raise the quality of African club football, make it more watchable and appealing to a wider audience, and dramatically boost revenues to fund improvements to infrastructure and conditions in football across the continent, and encourage more players to remain in Africa rather than moving to Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have recognised for many years that African football players have been among the best in the world, but we have to improve the appeal of African football, its commercial viability and its capacity to sustain itself,\u201d CAF president Patrice Motsepe, billionaire businessman and owner of South Africa\u2019s champions Mamelodi Sundowns, said in July when confirming the launch of the eight-team version.<\/p>\n

All of the experts Al Jazeera spoke to agreed that, as Clint Roper, general manager of Soccer Laduma and Kickoff puts it, \u201cthe African continent is crying out for a competition that puts players in the international spotlight\u201d.<\/p>\n

But many have questioned whether the AFL is the right vehicle to improve African football.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf done right this could be a game-changer, it does have elements that hint at a better future,\u201d News 24 football journalist Njabulo Ngidi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it also has worrying elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teething problems<\/p>\n

While FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Motsepe\u2019s grand dream hasn\u2019t materialised just yet, the fact that the AFL is going ahead at all must be a relief to both men.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month the Premier Soccer League\u2019s board voted unanimously against Mamelodi Sundowns\u2019 participation, citing fixture congestion \u2013 although the decision was unanimously reversed at an emergency meeting on October 13, with no official reason given.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the issue of TV rights for African football is an unresolved snag. Pending a broadcast deal, all AFL games will be aired on YouTube.<\/p>\n

While this might seem like a boon for accessibility, Ngidi says it is exactly the opposite. Of the 43 percent of Africans who have access to the internet, the vast majority do so via expensive mobile data connections. If and when a broadcasting deal is reached, it\u2019s highly likely the AFL will not be free-to-air.<\/p>\n

Peter du Toit, founder of the This is Football.Africa podcast, is not surprised that the new tournament has come up against so many headwinds.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like what they know and are wary of what they don\u2019t know,\u201d he said, giving the example of \u201cthe biggest tournament the world has ever known,\u201d \u2013 the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the first tournament happened in Uruguay in 1930 only eight teams accepted the invitation to attend. And look at it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A similar thing happened when the expanded UEFA Champions League format replaced the European Cup, he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chances of getting all the top [24] clubs to come on board at the same time was a fantasy. And it may have been a disaster,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s not a good idea to look too far ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to see the standard of the soccer, the TV figures,\u201d he said. \u201cThe second year will be the real test.\u201d<\/p>\n

Financially, at least, signs are improving. Last week, the Saudi Arabian tourism board, Visit Saudi, came on board as the new competition\u2019s main sponsor of the AFL. And several other high-profile sponsors have signed on in the last week.<\/p>\n

If the AFL is still going strong in a few years, there\u2019s a real possibility, Du Toit says, that stars such as Egypt and Liverpool\u2019s Mohamed Salah or Senegal and Bayern Munich\u2019s Sadio Mane could finish their careers in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis, in turn, will attract even more viewers and sponsors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ngidi says it\u2019s essential that AFL revenues are shared fairly with the smaller leagues and clubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the initial media statement [CAF] said that each member association will get some money. But they didn\u2019t say how much.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Al Jazeera put these concerns to Luxolo September, Acting Director of Communications for CAF, he said: \u201cThe AFL will not only benefit Africa\u2019s strongest clubs, the distribution of money generated by the AFL will go to all 54 CAF members and local leagues to improve football development in those countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The devil, of course, is in the details. And there\u2019s also the risk that the associations might squander the funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be great if money was ring-fenced for specific projects,\u201d Ngidi stressed. \u201cThey need to say, \u2018you can only do xyz with the money\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

To this end, September says that one of the objectives of the AFL is \u201ccontributing to the building of youth academies for boys and girls and football infrastructure in the 54 countries that are represented by CAF\u2019s member associations\u201d.<\/p>\n

Du Toit hopes that initiatives like this become a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure that local leagues don\u2019t become secondary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessionalisation of African soccer is going to happen, but it needs to happen in the right way. Progress needs to have a trickle-down effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if the AFL does take off, the CAF Champions League also faces a rocky road.<\/p>\n

The existing flagship continental competition features 68 teams from all 54 African associations in the first round. With qualification for the AFL being based solely on rankings points, countries like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa will likely have more than one representative in an expanded AFL, reducing opportunities for teams from smaller, less competitive leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some positives [to the AFL], and it\u2019s definitely the way the game is going,\u201d Ngidi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it needs to be done in a way that doesn\u2019t simply make the rich get richer. I really worry that it will only deepen the inequality in African soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n

September, meanwhile, says the AFL is all about ensuring that \u201cAfrican football retains its best football talent on the African continent and continues to ensure the long-term success, strength and sustainability of African club football.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Cape Town, South Africa \u2013 The inaugural season of the African Football League kicks off on Friday with Tanzania\u2019s Simba SC hosting Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly in the first leg of their quarterfinal. The new continental club competition \u2013 spearheaded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the sport\u2019s global governing body, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":45548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-45549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nThe African Football League is finally kicking off. 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