A new 24-club super league that aims to revolutionize football in Africa and become the richest competition was launched by the president of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, on Wednesday, just hours after his organization suffered a loss of nearly 50 million US dollars reported for the last year.
Motsepe said at the CAF General Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania that the CAF Africa Super League would offer a total prize pool of US$100 million, more than five times more than the current Champions League in Africa.
The new competition is set to begin in August 2023 and the winning club will receive $11.5 million in its inaugural season, Motsepe said at a launch event after the General Assembly. Each of the 24 participating teams will initially receive $2.5 million to cover costs.
CAF and Motsepe did not reveal which 24 African clubs would take part in the first season, nor did they specify the exact format. He said there would be another announcement in a few months.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended the CAF General Assembly and launch. He had already pledged his support for the project, in contrast to last year’s doomed European Super League, which was strongly opposed by world football’s governing body.
While the $100m Africa Super League is dwarfed by the UEFA Champions League – with $2bn split among European clubs in prize money – it would still be by far the richest competition in Africa .
Even the African Cup of Nations, the continental flagship for national teams, has nearly $30 million in prize money. Senegal raised $5 million for winning the tournament in February.
“It’s a project that will make African club football shine… well beyond Africa,” Infantino said of the proposed competition.
However, Motsepe gave no specific details on where the money to fund CAF’s new intercontinental league would come from as the African Football Confederation is struggling financially. CAF figures released on Wednesday showed that the company had suffered a net loss of $44.6 million in 2020-21, and some recent media reports even claimed that CAF is a little over a year into the presidency of the United States South African mining billionaire is practically bankrupt.
As well as the $100 million, Motsepe said another $50 million would be made available to pay players and keep some of the continent’s best talent in Africa.
Motsepe said last month that CAF had been “inundated with investors and sponsors” but is yet to announce a big commercial deal for the Africa Super League.
“We believe we can change the face of African football,” Motsepe said, echoing strong interest from trading partners. “We are raising $100 million… and we are confident that it will go a long way in raising the quality and level of African football.”
The idea of an Africa Super League was first floated two years ago and Infantino has been closely associated with the project from the start, with some speculating he is the driving force behind it. Infantino said he was “fortunate enough to help out with some of the meetings.”
Earlier at the CAF General Assembly, Motsepe described Infantino as “an African brother based in Europe” and said that all 54 member countries of the CAF would vote for him in next year’s FIFA presidential election in Rwanda.
This comment is likely to draw renewed criticism that CAF are too close under Motsepe Infantino, who used his influence as head of world football to ensure Motsepe was unopposed as CAF President in March 2021, despite the South African having no experience in international football had administration.
CAF is the second largest continental football governing body after UEFA and provides a large voting block for the FIFA leadership competition. For many, Infantino has adopted similar tactics to his predecessor Sepp Blatter, whose charm offensive in Africa helped him secure a large chunk of those 54 votes and stay in power for nearly 20 years.
Motsepe responded to criticism last month that he was a “puppet” for Infantino, something that has shadowed him since he was elected with Infantino’s help.
“There are things we agree on and things we don’t agree on,” said Motsepe at the Africa Women’s Championship in Morocco. “I focus on promotion and make money from African football and this Infantino thing is old history for me.”
On Wednesday, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Infantino presented a large, framed picture of Mount Kilimanjaro at the General Assembly, while Motsepe gave the FIFA President a hearty applause and invited assembly delegates to join in the applause.