Safa throws its weight behind Caf's AFL

The South African Football Association (Safa) has thrown its weight behind the African Football League (AFL) and supports the participation of the South African national team and football clubs in all Caf tournaments. 

The money-spinning Caf’s AFL is expected to start on October 20 with eight selected teams from different Africa countries taking part in it. 

South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns are the only Premier Soccer League (PSL) club in the tournament that will see the winners take home R76m. 

But reports have suggested that PSL’s board of governors has objected Sundowns’ participation in the tournament due to lack of communication from the organisers and clash of fixtures.  

The other teams in the tournament will be Al Ahly (Egypt), Simba SC (Tanzania), Enyimba FC (Nigeria), Wydad AC (Morocco), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia) and Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Angola).      

But Safa has endorsed the competitions, saying they have been part of meetings where the AFL was discussed.  

“The South African Football Association (Safa) and the Member Associations representing the 54 African Countries that are Members of Caf have attended several meetings which were hosted by Caf, over the past two years, where the significant contributions of the African Football League (“AFL”) to the development and growth of African club and national team football was discussed,” Safa said. 

“The Association is also aware of the meetings over the last two years in which the Chairmen and Representatives of the major football Clubs in Africa were briefed by Caf of the formation and the launch of the African Football (previously “Super”) League. 

“The Caf Ordinary General Assembly which took place in August 2022 in Tanzania took a decision establishing and launching the African Football League. The recent Caf Ordinary General Assembly, which took place in July 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire, took a decision that all African football federations, professional leagues and football clubs must participate in all Caf competitions to make football in Africa globally competitive and self-supporting.

“This decision was partly in response to the non-participation, over the years, by certain national teams in the African Nations Championships (“Chan”) competition. 

“Safa fully supports the decisions that were taken by the Caf Ordinary General Assembly in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire and furthermore supports the participation by the South African national team and football Cclubs in all Caf competitions.”