SAZI HADEBE

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) have sort of confirmed they’ll be going ahead with their plan to have Super League on the continent, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who ironically dismissed the idea in Europe, and Caf’s president Patrice Motsepe, the two main advocates.

As a supporter of growth in African football I guess I have to put my reservations aside and join everyone in the hope that the competition will start next year as promised.

Looking at the figure of $100m (R1.7bn) that Caf announced last week as the total prize money of what would be their new premier competition, you realise this will be huge for African clubs, especially the 24 that will be chosen to kick-start the Super League in August next year.

We all hope that at some point Caf will provide more details of the competition other than the $11.5 (R191m) they’ve said the winner will pocket. That prize will be staggering compared with the $2.5m (R41m) that the winners of the Caf Champions League pocketed last year.

The new competition will certainly demand a lot of things from the 24 participating teams and one of those will be the need for decent venues for the matches.

Caf has a rule that prohibits national teams from hosting international matches at venues that don’t meet international standards. While countries like SA, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and a few don’t have big challenges when it comes to infrastructure, we all know of the mighty problems some African countries still have.

This was one of the reasons I had reservations as I thought an African Super League should take a back seat while the continent focuses on building proper stadiums.

The rotation of the clubs that participate in the Super League should not only be a concern in SA. Every country that participates should aim to give an opportunity to other teams that won’t part of the initial 24.

I would have preferred Fifa help African countries in the construction of the stadiums, with each member association among the 56 countries under Caf having at least one venue to host matches of a Super League standard.

Second, there’s still a big issue with travelling on our continent, be it flying or on the road. Those challenges, I thought, needed to be ironed out before a competition of this magnitude was launched.

With a year left before the start of the Super League, I don’t believe everything will be in place. But I hope Motsepe and Infantino at least put plans in place to help countries struggling with facilities.

When it comes to SA and the Premier Soccer League (PSL), a competition like the Super League presents an opportunity for the growth of the league and its clubs.

For now it seems Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are guaranteed to form part of the eight clubs from the south and eastof Africa to participate in this competition, at least the maiden edition.

For Pirates and Chiefs, who have been battling to catch up with Sundowns in the past seven seasons or so, the Super League may give them an opportunity to close that gap, especially when it comes to players they can afford to sign.

I also think the value of the sponsorship investment for clubs in the Super League will increase, and I see Pirates and Chiefs, already big brands in SA football, benefiting the most.

But I also hope the three SA sides are not guaranteed participation in the Super League forever. More SA clubs will benefit and grow if, for instance, Chiefs, Pirates or Sundowns drop out and make space for another SA club.

The SA club that did well in the DStv Premiership, maybe by winning the league or finishing second, should, in my opinion, be given the third SA spot in the Super League. And, whoever between Chiefs, Pirates or Sundowns is relegated must go back to the PSL and fight for their spot through their log finish in the Premiership. This should be the only way to come back and claim their place in the Super League.

That is the only way to keep everyone’s interest in the Super League as far as SA is concerned. The three big SA clubs may deserve to represent the country in the maiden Super League competition if one considers they’re the only ones who’ve won a Caf competition before.

But having said that, the danger of keeping a permanent place for the three big SA clubs in the Super League may make other SA teams hostile towards the competition, as that will certainly rob them of potential growth. So if you want to keep everyone interested and happy, there should be a plan to let them participate one way or another at some point.

When Motsepe launched the Super League in Tanzania last week, key details as to how they’ll choose teams to partake in the new competition were not disclosed. It would be better if Caf and SA Football Association (Safa) were to guide the PSL on how to rotate their teams in the Super League.

Leaving it to the professional leagues to decide could somehow disadvantage smaller teams whose voice is often not taken seriously. Giving every PSL team a chance to one day participate in the Super League will help allay fears among those who believe the Super League is there to benefit a few top clubs on the continent.

The rotation of the clubs that participate in the Super League should not only be a concern in SA. Every country that participates should aim to give an opportunity to other teams that won’t be part of the initial 24.

Caf also disclosed that the 24 clubs will only come from 16 countries. That too can’t be permanent. If you want the whole continent to have a buy-in with the Super League you need to explain how and what it will take for other clubs and countries to be part of this venture.

A year should be long enough for Caf to come up with a structure that will give every club and country on the continent hope that may one day be part of a competition that promises to change the game of football as we know it in Africa.

But first we have to see if Caf can live up to its promise next year. Failure can’t be an option for Motsepe and Infantino as their future may hinge on whether they deliver on this Super League promise.