MOGAMAD ALLIE: Africa Super League: more hype than detail so far

When attending or observing the launch of a major event or competition, one would expect to learn about the full details of the innovation.

Instead, last week’s much-hyped launch of the Africa Super League in the historic Tanzanian city of Arusha turned out to be high on promises of huge financial reward but scant on detail.

In short, the eagerly awaited proposals for the structure of the new cash-flush continental league, announced by Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe, left more questions than answers swirling in the air.

It’s ironic that the launch of a league that will expand the gap between Africa’s rich, powerful clubs and their battling peers should have been done in Arusha. It was after all in this city that the much-loved late Tanzanian president Julius “Mwalimu” Nyerere launched the Arusha Declaration in February 1967, a socialist manifesto that sought to promote equality.

Billing the league as “the most important intervention to the development and advancement of football in Africa,” the proposals have raised concerns about the sustainability of the project and, more importantly, its impact on national leagues across the continent.

What we do know is the following:

The competition will run over 10 months between August and May, starting in 2023.

The 24 clubs will come from three regions — north, central/west and southern/east Africa. A maximum of three clubs per country will be allowed. It’s hard to imagine SA being represented by any clubs other than the big three — Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

The top five teams in each group and the best sixth-placed team will advance to the last-16 stage from where the competition will switch to a knockout format. The finalists will play a maximum of 21 matches.

The competition carries a total of $100m (R1.65bn) in prize money with the winners banking an eye-watering $11m. Each qualifier will receive $2.5m up front to cover travel and accommodation costs and to strengthen their squads.

While Motsepe is confident the Super League will attract investors, sponsors and broadcasters to plough money into African football like never before, the fact is that no sponsors have yet publicly expressed interest in financing the competition. In addition, some of the main continental broadcasters who would normally be in the frame to snap up the rights to televise the proposed 197 matches are believed to be reluctant to commit themselves to Caf’s financial demands.

Still, Motsepe is confident of attracting the right sponsors to fund the ambitious project.

Even though the competition has now been launched, there are still ongoing discussions with club owners and national federations about the details of the Super League. Surely this should have been done and dusted before the launch? Carts and horses come to mind.

The new competition will almost certainly affect SA’s Premier Soccer League (PSL). If Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates are, as expected, to be participating in the Super League, their commitment to the local league will at best be severely downscaled. It’s hard to see them not prioritising the cash-flush, prestigious continental competition with its promise of delivering bucket loads of dosh.

And if the country’s most popular teams, the crowd-pullers, are not fully committed to their local league it could affect sponsors of the SA game, not to mention the lucrative broadcast deal which is a vital income stream for most of the PSL clubs. Without the monthly grant financed by the PSL’s broadcast income, many clubs would struggle to keep their heads above water. 

Then there’s the issue of player welfare. The SA Football Players’ Union (Safpu) has come out strongly against the proposed Super League, complaining about a lack of consultation with players, clubs and national associations.

The additional games — remember the Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup competitions will run alongside the Super League — will surely also affect the workload of players.

What could well happen is that the clubs playing in the Super League, armed with more cash, will simply buy more players to cope with their increased commitments, thereby weakening other clubs.

It’s worth remembering that the idea of the African Super League has been strongly backed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino. It’s the same Infantino who last year proposed changing the frequency of the World Cup to every two years. And not surprisingly, it was an idea that was strongly backed by Motsepe and Caf.

Fortunately the worldwide backlash, led by European football, forced Infantino into an embarrassing retreat and the matter wasn’t even discussed at FIFA’s congress in Doha at the end of March.