From CAF Super League to African Football League: CAF’s New Competition Kicks off October 20

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, July 16, 2023 –The new competition from the Confederation of African Football, CAF, is set to kick off on October 20 of this year, according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The World Football boss announced the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) General Assembly in Abidjan on Thursday, July 13.

The competition will run concurrently with CAF's Champions League for domestic league winners across the continent and is not a replacement. It has been drastically scaled down from the original proposal of 24 teams as CAF announced a $15.7 million loss for the 2022-23 financial year.

"It will have eight great teams, which will be followed in the future with a bigger version," Infantino told delegates. We have to invest in African club football as well as national team football.”

"It is our responsibility, duty and task, and with the work and contribution of all of us as a team, we will succeed," Infantino said.

Not much more is known of the competition

A little over three months before it is set to kick off, 8 teams are set to compete in the tournament, with 24 teams initially proposed. South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Petro Atletico from Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo’s TP Mazembe, Al Ahly from Egypt, Horoya from Guinea, Wydad Casablanca from Morocco, Tanzania’s Simba and Esperance of Tunisia are set to compete for the initial prize competition.

"We 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," Motsepe told delegates.

CAF also confirmed a loss for the previous financial year, but that is off the back of a 17% improvement in revenues to $125.2 million, which they anticipate will grow further in 2023-24, as reported by Reuters. The deficit was not unexpected after CAF settled out of court for an undisclosed figure with commercial agency Lagardere last November, having cancelled a 10-year, $1-billion television and marketing rights deal in 2019.

"CAF had to take some difficult decisions on the long-standing dispute with some of our partners by settling matters out of court," CAF said in a statement on Thursday. This, plus other accounting standards provisions recommended by CAF auditors, were fully provided for in the financials."

CAF Changes the name of the Competition

Initially called the CAF Africa Super League, CAF has moved to change the name of the new competition which will now be known as the African Football League, a move to appeal to African fans after the failed European endeavour.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe told South African public broadcaster SABC in June that the name change was necessary because some major sponsors had a problem with the original title.

"Some sponsors say the history of the Super League in Europe was not good and if you associate the name 'super' with a football competition, it has negative connotations," said Motsepe…It will be the best league thanks to a huge prize fund," Motsepe said.

"Our friends in Europe advised us not to use the expression 'super league. (They based this advice on) negative associations with the recent failed attempt in European football."