The Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially launched, on Wednesday August 10, 2022 in Arusha (Tanzania), its new competition called Super League, on the occasion of its 44th general assembly.
“The CAF Executive Committee has taken the decision to launch the CAF African Super League in August 2022. The official kick-off of this league will be given in August 2023. We announced on July 3, 2022 that the prize money CAF African Super League total will be $100 million, with the winner receiving $11.5 million,” said CAF President, Patrice Motsepe.
The new competition will feature 24 clubs from 16 African countries. The objective is to bring better visibility to African football, especially to allow the continental association to garner additional resources.
“One of the main problems in Africa is funding. Our aim is for African club football to be world class and rival the best in the world. The profits generated by the Super League will be used to make African football more attractive, to ensure that players stay in Africa and to improve the quality of infrastructure for clubs on the continent. Each of the 24 clubs that will participate in the initial tournament will receive an annual contribution of three and a half million dollars to buy players and pay for transport,” commented Mr Motsepe.
Choice of 3 major regional hubs
The African Super League will be organized around three main poles (North, Center-West and South-East) each grouping eight teams.
A total of 14 matches will be played in the first phase. At the end of this group phase, the first five of each group and the best 6th all groups combined will take part in the direct elimination phase, from the round of 16. The clubs will be chosen according to their results in the two annual CAF competitions, namely the Champions League and the CAF Cup.
