CAF SUPER LEAGUE

Africa Sports General Posted on 2022-07-22 04:26:38

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The gift that keeps on giving. That is the best way to describe the talent pool in African football. But for all that raw talent, a lot of the professional football players in Africa have their minds set on playing anywhere in Europe. Besides the obvious monetary gain, these European teams— by virtue of competent facilities and coaching, more often than not offer their players a clear developmental path, as well as the ultimate match day experience. African football does not offer this, certainly not at the level most European leagues do. Enter, CAF Super League. 

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino in his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo to celebrate the 80th anniversary of TP Mazempe in November 2019, announced that there will be a CAF Super League. The Super League is an unpopular idea in Europe but could be what redefines African football.

WHAT WE KNOW

The Super League will be an annual continental football competition, made up of 24 teams from the 54 CAF Member Associates. The competition will be launched in the CAF Ordinary Assembly holding in Tanzania on 10th August 2022 and is slated to kick off in August 2023. 

To be involved in the Super League, the teams must have a functional women's team and an academy. Furthermore, all participants of the inaugural edition will receive substantial amounts of money with the prize for the winner reported to be around $100,000,000. The 54 Member Associates will also receive $1,000,000 every year as stated by the CAF President, "... part of the process involves giving $1 million every year to every one of CAF’s 54 Member Associations as a contribution to football and youth development."

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

Firstly, there is no official name for the competition yet. The format for the competition has not been made public, as well as the teams available to play in the competition. More so, the details as to how teams qualify to play in said competition is still unknown. Speculations are that these details will be made available during the CAF Ordinary Assembly in August 2022.

There seems to be a general belief that the “Super League" can go a long way to boost the African football environment with emphasis on improving the infrastructure and youth development. If all goes according to plan, Africa will boast a competition with an expected revenue that ranks it in the top 10 in world football. The teams will have standard football stadiums and facilities, a functioning women's team, and a youth system. And instead of eyeing a move to Europe, players can truly say and believe that there is no place like home. 

Go!