African Football League: Will it revolutionise football on the continent?

euronews (in English)

Africa's newest elite football competition kicks off on October 20th

Transcript

00:00 The brand new African Football League is just around the corner.

00:03 Eight teams will battle it out for what is now the continent's biggest prize.

00:07 Who will come out on top?

00:09 And how will this change the game in Africa?

00:12 Hello there and welcome to Football Now from Doha.

00:19 On this week's show we're turning our attentions to Africa,

00:22 where after a short delay, the continent's newest elite football competition,

00:25 the African Football League, is set to finally kick off on October 20th.

00:30 For the first year, only eight teams will compete for a share in the prize pot

00:33 worth almost 10 million euros.

00:36 But getting this tournament underway has been a while in the making,

00:38 so let's take a look at what it is and why it's taken so long to finally arrive.

00:43 Announced under the name African Super League in November 2019

00:47 by FIFA president Gianni Infantino,

00:49 the original plan was to have a competition of 24 teams.

00:52 However, the Confederation of African Football announced losses of nearly 15 million euros

00:57 in the financial year, which resulted in a delay to the competition's start date,

01:01 with the tournament scaled down to just eight clubs.

01:04 Those eight clubs involved this year will include current CAF Champions League winners

01:07 Al-Athli from Egypt.

01:09 Joining them will be one club picked from each of Africa's other top seven leagues,

01:14 including Tanzania's Simba Sports Club,

01:16 so too will the South Africa champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

01:20 Also with them are Petro Atletico from Angola,

01:23 Democratic Republic of Congo's Tipe Mzembe,

01:26 Tunisia's Esperance,

01:28 Enyemba FC of Nigeria

01:30 and Wydad Casablanca from Morocco.

01:32 All three rounds, including the final, will be played over two legs,

01:36 with the winner being decided on November 11th.

01:39 Well, the African Football League, as it was now known,

01:44 conceived by FIFA and then the Confederation of African Football CAF,

01:49 to have an elite club football for Africa.

01:53 African football, yes, of course, has its audience

01:56 when it comes to the bigger football trophies,

01:59 that's the African Cup of Nations,

02:00 but at club level, only a few clubs are very well established.

02:05 They have a big fan base, they have a huge following.

02:08 But a competition like this should, of course, kick off with a big fanfare

02:14 and obviously with a huge support.

02:17 And kicking it started has been difficult,

02:19 because one, the marketing aspect of it,

02:22 two, to attract sponsors to get the competition going,

02:26 and then getting all the teams agreeing together,

02:30 making sure that we get this competition going.

02:34 Yes, some big African sides in there.

02:36 Now, it won't have escaped your attention there

02:38 that the tournament was originally called the African Super League,

02:40 before a decision was made to rebrand,

02:43 following the negative connotations associated

02:45 with the failed European Super League a few years ago.

02:49 And whilst the project was met with some disdain from the fans,

02:51 the CAF president, Patrice Motsepe,

02:54 wants the world to view its African cousin

02:56 as a more positive competition.

02:58 It begs the question, though, how is this version any different?

03:01 And do the fans have an alternative outlook compared to those in Europe?

03:04 Yeah, look, I think, and I can speak from a South African point of view

03:08 with regards to that, people just love football.

03:11 So the more often they see their teams competing,

03:13 especially at the highest level,

03:15 you know, there's a genuine love for their sides.

03:17 From a footballing point of view,

03:19 I have not heard or seen a lot of outcry,

03:22 especially, like I said, from a South African perspective.

03:24 You know, there's genuine pride there

03:27 for former Malagasy Suns and their fans

03:29 that we get to compete in this inaugural event.

03:31 We get to compete in a tournament that, you know,

03:34 is a first of its kind on the continent,

03:36 a tournament that can grow to be something really elite.

03:39 Now, when the FIFA president Gianni Infantino

03:41 revealed their visions for the competition back in 2019,

03:44 the aim was to revolutionise the infrastructure of African football.

03:48 Only one World Cup has ever been hosted on the continent,

03:51 but the passion that the fans have for the game is plain to see.

03:54 Using the money generated from the African Football League tournament,

03:58 the idea is to build at least one modern football stadium

04:00 in every African country going forward.

04:03 So could this be a pathway to more World Cups in the future?

04:07 This competition aims to showcase the top club teams in Africa

04:11 and it is intended to advance African football in general as a product

04:15 and in return, maybe Africa can get another shot at hosting the World Cup.

04:20 The last time the continent hosted a World Cup was in 2010,

04:23 when it was held in South Africa,

04:25 a historical moment for Africans and African football.

04:29 So everybody's excited about this tournament

04:31 and they hope it can bring so much, you know, vision to the continent.

04:35 So let's see how it goes.

04:38 Now, one of the biggest challenges that this competition will face

04:40 is no doubt logistics.

04:42 Not only can Africa be somewhat difficult to travel around,

04:44 but this particular competition will coexist alongside other league

04:48 and cup competitions, meaning an even busier schedule for those players.

04:52 So just how much of a concern is this

04:54 and how will those particular players be looked after?

04:56 It's a big issue.

04:58 There's been too much football already in Africa.

05:00 To be specific, looking at this competition,

05:02 you already have a Cup, Champions League.

05:04 There's already also qualifiers for the World Cup,

05:08 which is going to start in November for the African qualifiers.

05:11 We've just finished or concluded the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

05:15 So it's going to be very difficult to put these fixtures together

05:19 and making sure that the schedules are on time.

05:22 For the most part, they would say we would play at Ramblin,

05:26 since it's just 80 teams.

05:28 So you're talking about 16 matches,

05:30 which is going to be on a home and away fixture basis.

05:34 So looking at that, the 16 matches,

05:36 it wouldn't affect the main fixtures of the clubs

05:39 in the Cup, Champions League and also the Cup, Confederations Cup.

05:43 Yeah, really exciting time for football in Africa

05:45 then on the eve of a brand new tournament on the continent.

05:48 That is all we have time for on this week's show.

05:49 Do let us know your thoughts at home using the hashtag #FootballNowAFL

05:53 and we'll see you at the same time next week.

05:54 Bye for now.

05:55 (FOOTBALL NOW AFL)

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