Earlier this year, the European Super League united football fans worldwide. Yet, after the failure of the Super League and all the backlash against it, the football world is shaken once more. At least, the African football world is. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has now confirmed what had previously been rumours. The African Super League is coming.
The African Super League
Idea to Reality
An idea proposed by none other than FIFA, the same idea that they rejected so hard for Europe, is apparently the future of the African game. CAF president Patrice Motsepe is aware of the backlash. He’s claiming that Africa will learn from Europe’s mistakes. He said: “We have been following attempts by some top European clubs to form a Super League and will learn from their experience.”
According to Motsepe, the new African Super League will feature 20 permanent clubs. The remainder of the slots will be accessible via qualification to all other African clubs.
The new Super League will also replace the current CAF Champions League, mirroring the same things that had been said by the creators of the European Super League. Despite his saying otherwise, CAF and Motsepe’s proposal is thus far incredibly similar to the European one earlier this year.
This style of tournament will not, however, be a new thing to African sports. Earlier this year, Africa launched the Basketball Africa League, doing so with help from the NBA of the USA. The tournament has several permanent slots for the basketball champions of eight major African countries. Clubs from other countries are left having to qualify for the tournament.
With 20 slots available, there will be a heavy debate in Africa over which clubs will belong. Clubs like Zamalek and Ahly of Egypt along with Mazembe of Congo and Esperance of Tunisia are sure bets to be included. However, we may see some backlash from smaller clubs who rely on the occasional Champions League qualification.
We are yet to see how African football fans and clubs will respond. With African football being weakened and struggling to keep up with European and Asian clubs, will fans be more receptive? Will the promise of more wealth in the African game be too much for fans to reject? African football has been struggling for a long time. That alone might be enough to save the African Super League from suffering the fate of it’s European brother.
Main Photo
