Africa-Press – Kenya. There would only be 15 permanent clubs allowed in the elite league. The once-prosperous qualification process would wither. Only a few clubs who did not buy a spot in the European Super League could join.
The Super League replaced the magic of the UEFA Champions League that filled TV screens everywhere with a glitzy sham that few could enjoy. As expected, the backlash was severe, clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool, and more issued apologies within days of the secret project getting leaked.
Although the plans are probably surviving within the closeted mind of Florentino Perez and Real Madrid, the UEFA Champions League would stay for another decade or so, to the fans’ delight.
Another Super League is starting behind closed doors just miles away from Europe. Its consequences could be fatal for football and become official in a year or so.
The Africa Super League is coming to cripple Africa’s minnows and reward its big names, much like its European counterpart threatened to do. So why is no one worried?
How FIFA made Super League The makings of the Africa Super League came three years before its European contemporary, in a party hosted in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
FIFA chief, Gianni Infantino, attending a TP Mazembe party, alluded to a new ‘Africa Super League’ that could make at least 200 million USD. His comments made the rounds on Twitter for a day or two, but they faded away as soon as they popped up.
A 20-team, closed league that would be one of the top 10 most lucrative leagues ever? The incredible remarks, combined with the lack of details, meant no one would take it seriously.
Three years later, Infantino was back in Africa. This time, he was at a Simba SC party, shaking hands with top African football officers. He would appear in the tweet to shake the world, along with former Simba SC CEO Barbara Gonzalez.
The responses were varied. Most congratulated Barbara on her bargaining skills to land Simba SC spot in Africa Super League. Some however came out against the tide, announcing their disdain for a closed league.
But FIFA remembered the European Super League fiasco, recalling its ambitious plans for a semi-closed league with big profits and elusive spots. The backlash shocked FIFA and the league’s founding members, who stashed the plans away for a later date.
While Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club lifted the CAF Champions League title in May 2022, CAF president Patrice Motsepe and other African officials were holding preliminary talks with club officials and tweaking the remains of the Africa Super League project.
When clubs began their Champions League dreams in August, Motsepe wooed Executive Officials, club CEOs, and more. And when the Champions League group stage got underway, CAF approved the Africa Super League.
From then on, the plan survived in secrecy. Motsepe and a few high-ranking officials talked about the Africa Super League from time to time. But news outlets overlooked it as clubs decided to stay quiet on their involvement with the Super League.
The Details It was in early August last year, one of Africa’s best coaches, South African Pitso Mosimane, took a hiatus from coaching to become the current manager of a Saudi Arabian club, Al-Ahli Jeddah.
Al Ahly’s dominance ends as Wydad Athletic Club topples the Egyptian football club in a controversial 2021/22 CAF Champions League final. And the Africa Super League, like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, surges back into the headlines.
Journalists flocked to the official announcement of the Africa Super League in Arusha, Tanzania. As anticipated, there are big promises and big money tags attached to Africa’s new, premier competition. There will be a prize pool of 100 million USD.
Each of Africa’s 54 member countries will receive 1 million USD per year. The members will be presented with 50 million USD per year will develop academies, make CAF’s football games appealing, and employ ‘world-class staff’. Aside from Motsepe and his CAF crew promising big price tags to any partakers, there were some other noteworthy promises.
Each participating club needs to own a women’s team and an academy to play. Rather than forcing cross-continental trips from the clubs, the group stage will be regionalized. And it will be more inclusive than ever, featuring 16 countries on the group stage.
Yet, some red flags emerged quickly after the meeting finished. What will happen to the CAF Champions League? What will happen to the localized leagues? Where is this money coming from? Dealbreakers popped up, and the general opinion toward the Africa Super League changed. Rather than something to celebrate, it became something to dread.
The Africa Super League will not replace the CAF Champions League, as most assumed. Instead, it would take some of Africa’s best teams and whisk them to the Africa Super League.
Now the CAF Champions League is in an awkward status where it entertains the usual CAF Confederation Cup favourites. The CAF Confederation Cup will probably become a playground for Africa’s minnows.
The Africa Super League has promised football fans 197 matches in its inaugural season, three times the total number of matches in the CAF Champions League last year.
It means teams will play a maximum of 21 games. Combine that with 30+ league matches, 5+ cup matches, and the odd tournament or three sprinkled in, and you get injuries, a lot of injuries.
It is leading to some speculating that powerhouses like Al Ahly, Wydad Athletic Club, and Mamelodi Sundowns could leave their respective leagues for the Africa Super League.
The future does not look sunny for supporters of local, mid-table teams who probably will not make it to a continental competition anytime soon. The big question that had forums confused was where the Africa Super League’s budget came from.
Motsepe and CAF have said that they will award the winner of the Africa Super League a whopping 11.5 million USD in prize money, only a mere million from the CAF Champions League’s entire prize pool.
It would not be surprising to see CAF dip back into its shady ways. Yet it was still shocking to hear that Gianni Infantino and FIFA wanted Saudi Arabia to finance the upcoming Super League in exchange for the hosting rights for the 2030 World Cup.
It is not only weird that FIFA would give Saudi Arabia the green light to host the World Cup on the centennial of the first World Cup ever, but it’s even more troubling that FIFA wants Saudi Arabia to bribe the world soccer body.
Aside from the corruption reeking from the Africa Super League, there are some issues with the format. The regionalized groups that kick off the Super League seem very unbalanced.
The North African group will have teams like Al Ahly, Zamalek, Wydad Athletic Club, Raja Club Athletic, and more compete for just six potential knockout stage spots.
The South/East group will have way less competition than the North group. There are only five South/East teams and five Western teams in the top 24 places in CAF Club Rankings, compared to 14 North African clubs.
The format will make it harder than ever for North African teams to grow against their world-beating competition. A suggested format for the CAF Champions League issued by CAF could be even worse than the Africa Super League.
After pre-qualification, the Africa Super League members and 40 other clubs will play in a March Madness-like knockout stage. If CAF uses its traditional two-legged matches, teams will play 12 matches in the tournament at most.
The shady details that have come out from the Africa Super League, the number of matches, bribery, unconventional format, willingness to throw away the CAF Champions League, and more, mean this tournament should not be welcomed with open arms.
Although the promise of a better Africa could be realized with CAF’s pledge to invest in the academies, women’s football, and the member associations, CAF has not released enough details to show the confederation’s trustworthiness. Why then is no one fascinated about the Africa Super League?
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