The African Football League (AFL) – the newest continental club competition – is set to kickoff later this month, a year after it was formally announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The hugely lucrative competition was launched in August 2022, initially as the African Super League, with Caf president Patrice Motsepe central to its birth.
The AFL is set to become the richest club competition in African football and will consist of the best eight teams on the continent as the inaugural participants.
Sunday World brings you all the details regarding this competition.
WHICH CLUBS WILL PARTICIPATE?
The eight teams to take part in the inaugural edition have been confirmed, with Caf picking one team from each of the top-ranked leagues on the
continent to participate.
South Africa will be represented by none other than Mamelodi Sundowns, who have been regular representatives for the country in continental football given their exploits in the Champions League.
The Tshwane giants will be joined by Egyptian giants Al Ahly, Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, Tunisia’s Esperance, TP Mazembe from Congo, Nigeria’s Enyimba, Simba from Tanzania and Petro Atletico from Angola.
WHY SUNDOWNS?
There might be some question marks on why Sundowns were among the teams handpicked to participate in this competition, especially given their affiliation with Caf president Motsepe.
But those questions can be answered simply by the fact that the Brazilians have, without a shadow of doubt, been the best team in the country for the past couple of years.
Sundowns, who recently reached the Champions League group stages for the ninth consecutive season, have easily the best continental record of a Mzansi club.
As a result, there could be no better representative from the country, with Downs well and truly the natural choices to fly the country’s flag high in the AFL.
Mzansi’s traditional giants – Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – do not have the credentials on the continent in recent years to be in the conversation for this groundbreaking competition.
WHY SUNDOWNS’ PARTICIPATION IS IN DOUBT?
Sundowns’ participation in the AFL hangs in the balance after the Premier Soccer League’s board of governors, made up of the chairpersons of the league’s 32 member clubs, essentially showed Caf the middle finger.
In a bid to accommodate Sundowns, Caf had requested that the PSL adjust its domestic schedule so that the Tshwane giants can fulfil their Premiership assignments but that request was rejected.
Sundowns are scheduled to play their opening match in the AFL against Petro Atletico in Luanda on October 21.
The second leg will be played in Pretoria on 24 October.
South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has promised to intervene and meet with the PSL to resolve the matter.
THE FORMAT:
The selected teams are set to face off in a knockout format, starting with the quarterfinals, where each tie will be played over two legs, home and away, with the away goal rule applied.
The winners will then progress to the semifinals, where a similar process will take place to determine the team that will progress to the final.
There will be no extra time in both the quarterfinal and semifinal stages in the event of a draw after the second legs, with penalty shootouts set to
decide the tie.
VAR will be in use from start to finish in the AFL because Caf wants to set high standards in the tournament.
PRIZE MONEY:
The AFL comes with a financial windfall for all the clubs that are involved with the prize money set at a staggering R76 million for the winners.
The runners-up will also be laughing all the way to the bank with R57-million. All the semi-finalists will walk away with R32-million.
Mere participation in the competition will see the teams bag R19-million.
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