Europe rejected it, Africa will have its SuperLeague (and not everyone likes it)

What was still a (very strong) hypothesis a few weeks ago became a reality on November 26, during the Executive Committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF) in Cairo. At the end of the extraordinary general assembly, several decisions were taken, in particular the support of the body for the project of the FFA to organize the World Cup every two years, and the creation of a SuperLeague. It has been several months since the new direction of the AF, chaired since March by the South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, notoriously close to Gianni Infantino, planchaait on this file.

2.5 billion euros in revenue over 5 years according to Infantino

The idea was launched by the President of FIFA, during a trip to DR Congo in November 2019, then reiterated three months later in Morocco, during a CAF-FIFA seminar. The Valaisan had openly declared himself in favor of an African SuperLeague, likely according to him to generate 2.5 billion euros over five years, a sum much higher than that released by the Champions League.

“I am waiting to see”, however delays a member of CAF. The health crisis and the turbulence that agitated the African Confederation during the last months of Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad’s mandate had pushed the project into the background. Motsepe’s election brought it up to date: Mauritanian Ahmed Ould Yahya, one of CAF’s vice-presidents, was tasked with working on the project, with the discreet but effective help of members of the institution, and the boss of African football had, via a press release published last June, confirmed that discussions with the federations were underway.

The last Executive Committee of the body therefore resulted in the realization of a project that will make Africa a pioneer in SuperLeague. Several European clubs (Juventus Turin, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool in particular) had tried, last spring, to create their own competition, with the success that we know. Today, Africans are preparing to launch theirs, although no date has been set. Other questions remain, on the number of teams involved, their method of selection, and the amount of the entry ticket that will be required. Or even on the real income that this Super League could generate, since Motsepe, unlike Infantino, did not venture into this field.

Towards a closed League?

A priori, around twenty clubs would be directly affected by the future competition. But not just any. “It is to be expected that Zamalek and Al-Ahly (Egypt), Esperance Tunis and Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia), WAC Casablanca and Raja Casablanca (Morocco), TP Mazembe (DR Congo) , Algerian (JS Kabylie) or South African (Kaizer Chiefs) clubs are concerned. Only big ones, with a significant track record at continental level ”, assumes a leader of a West African federation.

Obviously, the Super League has its supporters and its detractors, while others take a middle position. This is the case of Ridha Charfeddine, president of Etoile du Sahel, winner of the C1 in 2007. “First, the initiative comes from CAF. In Europe, it did not come from UEFA but from several clubs. This should avoid divisions. In principle, I am not hostile to the SuperLeague, because we know that the Champions League generates significant costs and that it brings little (2.2 million euros to the winner and 1.1 to the finalist, note) . A more profitable competition thanks to increasing TV rights and private sponsorship, why not, but on condition that it does not weaken the national championships. This is my main fear. ”

That of Benoît You, the director general of ASEC Abidjan, is more motivated by the selection criteria that will be retained. Rumors evoke a closed League and exclusively reserved for an elite. “If so, I am not in favor of it. Because that would further widen inequalities. On the other hand, if participation is linked to sporting merit, and therefore allows a club like ASEC to be part of it, I am for! ” And then there are the fierce opponents, like the Senegalese Saer Seck, the president of Diambars, who sees in this SuperLeague “An elitist competition, which will see the richest get richer and the poorest get poorer. We will mainly see North African and South African clubs, the most financially powerful. It also means that we will always see the same matches from one year to the next, or almost. ”

Some leaders would have liked CAF, rather than endorsing the SuperLeague, to focus their efforts on a better promotion of the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, by strengthening their visibility. “It would have made more sense. Competitions better exposed, more media, that would have attracted private partners ”, explains one of them. CAF has chosen another path. According to her, the SuperLeague, in addition to generating significant income, will limit the exile of the best players …