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