After the failure of the European Super League which was criticized by the fans, CAF has approved the African Super League which will have 20 teams.
CAF president Patrick Motsepe has confirmed that, the winner of the African Super League will be launched in August 2023, with the prize money racking up to $ 100m.
African Super League has been approved following a board meeting between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) the regulating body of the African football in Morocco. The super league is expected to have 24 permanent teams plus one or so regional teams.
The big 4 North African footballing countries which are Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco will have a major share of teams (almost 8 to 12 slots reserved) then the rest of the continent has to share 8 and perhaps up to 12 slots.
CAF African Super League 2021 Format
Model
FIFA president Gianni Infantino planted the idea of a league between all the influential clubs of Africa to increase the following of Football in the country and to make the sport more viable financially in the head of CAF president Patrice Motsebe.
As the proposal of a European Super League failed miserably, African football will now have its own Super League to generate more revenue for the growth of the sport and to provide support for the younger generation.
The model that they want to try is to have big teams with huge followings in their respective countries because of the TV revenues. An example is Kenya in East Africa have a team that is widely supported by so many called Gor Mahia, it has a huge following in that part of the continent but it is not a big team when it comes to African football.
According to some indiscretions, including the site footmercato, CAF wants to create this Super League by setting up three regional pools. There will be North Africa, Central and West Africa and finally South and East Africa. Each one will have its own pool of 8 teams. This will make 24 teams participating. The teams in each pool will play each other in two legs. The top five teams in each pool and the best runner-up will meet in the round of 16. From then on, it will be the same format as in the various African cups.
CAF Super 2021 Prize Money
The target for Super League is to generate $3billion in 5 years, if this money is converted into Rand it’s roughly around R43billion at the current exchange rate which amounts to Rs8.6billion per year.
This means a super league winner can possibly take home +-Rs150million (4 times more than the current CAF CL winning a prize) if one presumes that 10% will be allocated to winning prizes. So countries with big TV markets are the ones that will most likely benefit directly.
South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, DRC, and Angola are amongst the countries.
CAF Super League 24 Predicted Teams
1 Al Ahly ??
2 Zamalek??
3 Pyramid ??
4 Al Masry??
5 Wydad AC ??
6 Raja Athletic ??
7 RS Berkane ??
8 Esperance ??
9 Etoil Sportive Du Suhel ??
10 Orlando Pirates ??
11 Kaizer Chiefs ??
12 Mamelodi Sundowns ??
13 JS Kabyile??
14 CR Belouzidad ??
15 E.S Setif ??
16 TP Mazembe ??
17 Horoya AC ??
18 SC Enyimba??
19 Petro de Luanda ??
20 Simba SC ??
21 Asante Kotoko??
22 Al Hilal ??
23 Asec Mimosas??
24 Coton Sport??
Credit: Thesportsgrail.com
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