SPECIALREPORT
to travel across the continent eat up
the income from the competition’s
marketing and television revenue.
There are none of the riches of the
UEFA Champions League swirling
in the African pot.
Currently, only the16 clubs that
qualify for the group stages of both the
Champions League and Confederation
Cup earn any prize money.
The Champions League winners get
$2.5m, plus the added boost of money
from participating in FIFA’s Club World
Cup. But the side finishing fourth in the
group stage takes home $550,000- not enough to cover the cost of
travel, let alone any other expenses.
In the Confederation Cup, it is even
paltrier at $1.25m for the winner to
$275,000 to the teams who finish
bottom of the four groups.
It is little wonder that all the clubs
who have spoken toWorld Soccer
workshop – even though only around
half of them would be able to take part
in the project under its initial plans.
Originally the idea was a league of 20
fixed teams – chosen by reputation, size
and support – each paying a $1 million
entry fee, with four extra places for sides
to compete for, perhaps through a
watered-down Champions League.
It then changed to three groups of
eight teams to play along regional lines
(North Africa, Central/West Africa and
South/East Africa), then whittled down
to a knockout stage of16 teams – a
format that in reality almost replicates
thecurrentstructureoftheAfrican
Champions League.
It is also planned that the Champions
League and the secondary competition,
the African Confederation Cup, will stay
in place, which begs the question: what
is the point of the Super League and
where will they find the dates to play it?
At the symposium, clubs were told
it would require12 extra matchdays,
prompting questions from Al Ahly
coach Pitso Mosimane.
“I don’t know when and how you’re
going to play it,” said the South African.
“Where do you want to put it? With
a FIFA Arab Cup one month, CAF
Champions League one month, World
Cup half a month, and the league- where are you going to put it?”
The Cairo giants have won the last
two Champions League competitions
but, with all their other commitments
combined with their players regularly
off on international duty, have looked
exhausted in the first part of 2022.
Yet despite the flimsy concept,
clubs’ interest has
been piqued by
the chance to
earn some
much-needed
revenue; there
has been none
of the virulent
condemnation of
the project that
quickly scuppered
the idea in Europe.
Now the attitude is:
“Wait and see what
is brought to the
table before we
say anything,” as
one official told
World Soccer.
Al Ahly officials
recently bemoaned
the fact that Africa’s
most successful club – with ten
Champions League titles to their name
and chasing a record-breaking third
successive title this season – lose
money every time they win.
“For the last 20 years, every club in
Africa has been losing money playing
in the Champions League,” said their
president Mahmoud El Khatib.
The long distances that clubs haveTeaming up...CAF
president Patrice
Motsepe with FIFA’s
Gianni InfantinoAfrican champions...
supporters of Al Ahly