The proposed new African Super League which is due to start in August 2023, is a league filled with controversy. A huge amount of the controversy is around there not being enough in-depth detail on the new league. In addition, there is also a lot of indignation and fear from the clubs that have not been invited into 24 team league as to what the effect will be on their respective local leagues, and the effect it will have on their own clubs. But all of that will fall onto deaf ears when you look at the numbers involved, because in business and in life, money talks, and in football money talks even louder. When you look at the money being offered, it is clear that it will be too much money to resist.
The ASL will be the biggest sponsorship deal in African football. The winner of the African Super League will receive over two hundred million rand, and it is not inconceivable that it could be won by one of the PSL big three. The North African sides are probably favourites, but there is little chance that Chiefs, Pirates or Sundowns would turn down an opportunity at a bite of that cherry. Even if they don’t win the league each team will receive R40 million for participating. That alone is a big enough carrot.
It’s unlikely that any of the big teams throughout the continent will resist the African Super League. The question is, what does that mean for each of the respective domestic leagues on the continent? The ASL will no doubt grab the media attention. Will that mean a downgrading for the local pro leagues? Not necessarily, but that’s a discussion for another time.
The ASL is fully supported by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, and that will carry a lot of weight in making sure that the league is a success in every respect. At the end of the day, if the big teams on the continent believe it’s good for them to participate, then they will, regardless of the impact on the rest of the teams in the domestic leagues. Could the smaller clubs stop them? To answer that question just ask yourself, have smaller PSL teams ever stood up against the big-3 decisions in the past and won? Your views and comments are very important to us. Please sign up on the comment section and share your views. You are our boss, your opinion counts with us.