JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — African
football supremo
Patrice Motsepe will launch in Tanzania on Wednesday a CAF
Super League, with promises of a $100 million prize fund for cash-strapped
clubs.
اضافة اعلان
Team owners have complained for decades about the
costs of competing in the current marquee competition, the
CAF Champions League, which offers a $2.5 million first prize from a $12.5 million pot.
“There are some African clubs with literally
millions of supporters and the owners have to pay money in order to compete in
CAF competitions,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.
Billionaire South African businessman and
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Motsepe admitted after his
club, Mamelodi Sundowns, won the 2016 Champions League that the prize money did
not cover all the expenses.
Hamdi Meddeb, chairman of four-time Champions League
winners Esperance Tunis, says “if we think of what we spend on the Champions
League, compared to what we earn, it would be better not to play in it.
“Africa is a huge continent and sometimes we have to
charter flights at a cost of more than $100,000 each.
“When we won the Champions League (in 2018 and
2019), more than half the prize money was spent on bonuses and allowances for
the squad and the technical staff. Those are contractual obligations.”
Champions League prize money kicks in only at the
group stage, meaning 42 of the 58 entrants for the 2023 edition will incur
travel, accommodation and other costs but not receive a cent from CAF.
Motsepe has said more profitable times lie ahead,
however, and will reveal details of the Super League in the Tanzanian city of
Arusha at 1300 local time (1000 GMT) during a gathering of top CAF officials.
He previously said there will be $100 million in
prize money and hinted that the winners will be at least $10 million
richer.
‘Rival best in the world’
“We want the Super League to
be a world-class competition and to rival the best in the world in terms of
quality of football, resources, infrastructure, pitches, referees, and
ticketing,” the 60-year-old said.
“The Super League will be organized in partnership
with FIFA, who bring a wealth of experience in terms of running the best
competition in the world — the World Cup.”
Infantino said “the Super League is an exciting and
unique project and FIFA is happy to assist and share some of the experience we
have accumulated”.
While no details about the Super League have been
officially released, it is believed 24 clubs will take part in the maiden
edition.
Eight will come from the north, the dominant region
in African club football, eight from the west-center and eight from the
south-east.
Invitations to compete will be based on results in
the two annual CAF competitions — the Champions League and the second-tier
Confederation Cup.
Champions League title-holders
Wydad Casablanca,
fellow Moroccan club Raja Casablanca, Al-Ahly and Zamalek from Egypt and
Esperance seem certain to be among the eight competitors from the north.
Five-time African champions TP Mazembe from the
Democratic Republic of Congo are sure to be among the west-center selections.
Sundowns, a Pretoria club owned by Motsepe and run
by his son Tlhopane, will be certainties for the south-east list having
consistently reached the Champions League knockout stages since 2016.
A CAF official suggested that after the three
regional groups, there would be three knockout rounds leading to the final, and
record riches for the winners.
But not everyone is excited about the Super League
with Cape Town City FC owner John Comitis calling it a “super silly idea”.
“The Super League will kill African club football,” he
warned. “You can switch off the lights on the domestic leagues.”
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