Explainer: Why’s the African Football League Likely To Take Off?

On the 18th of April 2021, during the game between Arsenal and Fulham, a story began to unfold in the European press about the emergence of a Super League in which 12 European teams—Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus—tried to create their own league that would guarantee them straight passage into this competition regardless of their standings in their domestic football competitions-a stark deviation from the classic format used to qualify teams into Europe’s elite competition, the UEFA Champions League.

The 12 clubs came up with the idea of the European Super League in a bid for financial freedom, and they stood to gain up to $400 million per club as proceeds from the league’s broadcast rights.

Football fans all over  the world reacted angrily to this report, and within 48 hours the concept was scrapped.  While the idea might not have taken off within Europe, it resonated in Africa’s top-flight football taking the form of the African Football League. This is a huge way to recoup from the losses over the seasons for the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), which lost $45million in the 2020–2021 season. CAF believes that the league will help it earn more money from broadcast rights. They believe there is a huge will to invest in the AFL because of the traditional teams that would play a part in this tournament. 

What is the African Football League? 

The African Football League is a football competition where Africa’s highest-ranked football teams will compete. It is a partnership between CAF and FIFA. The league will feature eight of Africa’s most famous and successful teams from three African regional blocks, which are: the North Region, the Central West Region, and the South East Region.

From the initial proposal made by CAF, the winner of this competition wins a  prize money of $11.5m.

The draw for the inaugural AFL competition  held in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday, September 2nd, 2023,

The AFL competition is structured on a home-and-away basis. The competition starts with knockout quarterfinals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final, all of which are played over two legs.

The semi-finals will take place between October 29 and November 1.

The final matches, which will determine the winner of the inaugural AFL competition, will take place on November 5 and 11, 2023.

What teams are set to feature? 

Egyptian giants Al Ahly Football Club, Tunis’ Espérance Sportive de Tunis, and Wydad Athletic Club from Morocco will represent the North Region.

The clubs from the Central-West Region are Nigeria’s Enyimba Football Club and the DRC’s Tout Puissant Mazembe.

While Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club from South Africa, Angola’s Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, and Tanzania’s Simba Sports Club are the football clubs from the South-East Region.

Why has the AFL been accepted?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of CAF member countries have been experiencing difficult financial times. In fact, after an audit conducted in 2022, CAF lost $45 million in the 2020–2021 season, which was a 400% increase on the previous financial year, and CAF’s reserves declined by the same $45 million, nearly halving the losses to $50m when the reserves had stood at about $94m. The African football governing body had also lost its major source of income,  the billion-dollar deal it had with French media group Lagardere in late 2019. It is because of this that the African Super League has been accepted and adopted. 

What does this mean for the AFL’s future?

The inaugural AFL is a forerunner to the fully-fledged AFL competition, which will feature the 24 highest-ranked football clubs on the African continent and commence during the 24/25 football season.

What teams face each other? 

Following the draws on Saturday,September 2nd, 2023, here are the teams who will play off, as well as the dates and times of the matches.

Quarter Final 1 : Date: October 20, 2023

Simba SC ( Tanzania)  vs Al-Ahly (Egypt ). 

Second Leg- Date: October 24, 2023

 Al -Ahly( Egypt) vs. Simba SC ( Tanzania ) 

Quarter Final 2: Date: October 21, 202

P Mazembe (Congo)  vs Esperance (Tunisia) .

Second Leg – Date: October 25, 

Esperance (Tunisia) vs T.P Mazembe (Congo) .

Quarter Final 3: Date:  October 22, 2023

Enyimba (Nigeria ) vs Wydad  Casablanca (Morocco). 

Second Leg- Date: October 25, 

Wydad  Casablanca (Morocco) vs Enyimba (Nigeria).

Quarter Final 4:  Date: October  21, 2023

Petro Atletico de Luanda (Angola)  vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa). 

Second Leg- Date:  October 24, 

Mamelodi Sundowns ( South Africa)  vs Petro Atlético de  Luanda ( Angola) .

Semifinal 1: October 29.  

Semifinal 2:  November 1

Final 1:  November 5

Final 2: November 11