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Business Daily

Africa Super League – new dawn for football?

Business Daily

BBC

Business

4.4816 Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Confederation of African Football, CAF, with the backing of FIFA, has launched a new Super League aimed at injecting much-needed funds to clubs on the continent. CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe promised that the tournament, due to start in 2023, would financially transform African football with $100 million on offer in prize money alone. But, as Ivana Davidovic finds out, there are more questions than answers for many involved in the game on the continent.

The owner of Cape Town City, John Comitis, says that they are in the dark about how the new competition would work in practice and that South African Premier Soccer League, where they were the runners-up last season, would be badly affected by the new Super League.

Nigerian football journalist and the former member of the dissolved FIFA Task Force Against Racism, Osasu Obayiuwana is worried that there are no clear plans where the money would come from for the Super League nor how teams could travel regularly across the vast continent. He also warns that a big problem would be the lack of interest in pan-African club tournaments from broadcasters and sponsors, as it is difficult for many Africans to regularly follow on TV what is happening in football leagues across the continent.

However, the legendary South African striker, UEFA Champions League winner and the current Manchester United first team coach Benni McCarthy believes that the Super League would boost standards across Africa, helping young players compete with the best from around the world.

Produced and presented by Ivana Davidovic

(Image: Mohamed el-Shenawy holds the winner's trophy after the CAF Super Cup Final between El Ahly and Raja Casablanca at Al Rayyan Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on December 22, 2021. Photo credit: Mohammed Dabbous/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0

My Indian Life is back for season three, the podcast that explores what it means to be young and Indian in the 21st century.

0:07.2

With guests from all walks of life.

0:09.2

Singing is a part of storytelling for me. I need to tell my story to the world.

0:12.8

And from all across this huge country.

0:15.1

So as a tribe, we are not mere part of nature, but we are nature, each for the story to tell.

0:21.4

Winning the gold medal in Paralympics was a dream.

0:24.1

That's Kalki presents My Indian Life from the BBC World Service.

0:27.6

Just search for My Indian Life wherever you found this podcast.

0:32.3

Hello and welcome to Business Daily with me, Ivana Davidovich.

0:35.6

In today's program, the African continent has produced some of the world's best footballers,

0:40.5

like Sadiomane, George Wea or Didier Drogba, but are the standards at home hindering the

0:45.6

game's progress on the world stage?

0:47.9

With the World Cup about to start in Qatar, an African country is still waiting to win

0:52.3

the biggest prize in football.

0:54.4

Therefore, the governing body calf have launched a new Africa-wide football competition

0:58.8

to try and kickstart a lucrative new era for domestic clubs.

1:02.7

For the Super League to be the ultimate prize, bigger than the African Nations Cup,

1:08.2

for winning the tournament outright, you know. So that just shows you

1:11.6

what it will do to clubs. But will this new African Super League create more problems than benefits?

1:18.8

The infrastructure nightmare of Africa is unprecedented. We went and played a game in Congo

1:24.7

and when I tell you that we couldn't get there and come back under five days, it was completely outrageous the prices we had to pay to get there and back.

1:34.0

How are they going to fixture week in, week out games?

...

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