“But I don’t want to talk about the tournament. I like the tournament because it’s rich, it has a lot of money.
“Financially, yes [it’s a success], but the other ones [factors] I don’t know.
“Raja is a big club, Zamalek is a big club. And if you put Simba above them it’s another story.
“It’s good for money. But it’s just a tournament.”
Mosimane won the Champions League, the winners of which represent Africa in the Fifa Club World Cup, with Sundowns in 2016 and Egyptian giants Al Ahly in 2020 and 2021.
The 2023 AFL had a first prize of $4m (about R76m), while the runners-up collected $3m (about R57m).
‘That’s a tournament, that’s not Caf’: Pitso on the African Football League
Image: Supplied
Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane says he battles to view the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) new African Football League (AFL) as an official continental interclub competition given its invitational nature.
The inaugural, mega-wealthy 2023 AFL was won by Mosimane’s old club Sundowns, Rulani Mokwena’s men beating Wydad Casablanca 3-2 on aggregate in the two-legged final earlier this month.
The pilot, eight-team invitation AFL will be expanded to 24 clubs in 2024.
Mosimane has previously questioned how the AFL affects the significance of Africa’s premier club competition, the Caf Champions League, of which he is a three-time winner.
In a digital press conference with the South African Football Journalists’ Association on Monday he was asked if he believes the AFL and Champions League can coexist and both thrive.
“That [the AFL] is a tournament, that’s not Caf,” Mosimane said.
“It’s a tournament where you handpick eight teams out of 54 countries. That’s a tournament.
“I think the only thing I really like about this tournament is the financials behind it, empowering clubs, clubs getting more money. But that’s about it.
“How you get to be invited in there I don’t know, because I tried to check. Is it points-based or Caf?
“I just think there are other clubs like Raja Casablanca. I’m just making an example. There are a lot of clubs that have more points [cumulatively over the years in continental competition and in world rankings], if it’s points that allow you to be in the tournament.
Mosimane has talks in North America, a conversation in Europe and an eye on Asia
“But I don’t want to talk about the tournament. I like the tournament because it’s rich, it has a lot of money.
“Financially, yes [it’s a success], but the other ones [factors] I don’t know.
“Raja is a big club, Zamalek is a big club. And if you put Simba above them it’s another story.
“It’s good for money. But it’s just a tournament.”
Mosimane won the Champions League, the winners of which represent Africa in the Fifa Club World Cup, with Sundowns in 2016 and Egyptian giants Al Ahly in 2020 and 2021.
The 2023 AFL had a first prize of $4m (about R76m), while the runners-up collected $3m (about R57m).
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