An African Tremendous League is to be introduced on Wednesday by Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe with the promise of $100 million in prize cash for golf equipment throughout the continent.
The venture has been within the pipeline because it was first steered by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in early 2020 and has been met with nearly not one of the derision and outrage that adopted an analogous try in Europe final yr.
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Solely the gamers’ union in South Africa, in an announcement this week, has criticised the plan, saying: “Skilled soccer in South Africa and Africa could possibly be in danger if the decision to begin with the Tremendous League is applied and there could also be no return from the wreckage {that a} Tremendous League can develop into.”
Motsepe has promised sponsorship and income returns unparalleled for African soccer, the place the annual Champions League winner earns $2.5m in prize cash.
He has claimed, at a number of earlier information conferences, that the Tremendous League will permit golf equipment to pay high expertise wages to match these in Europe and due to this fact permit African groups to maintain their greatest gamers.
The Tremendous League, which officers advised Reuters is prone to be named the African Soccer League to disassociate it with the unfavourable connotations of final yr’s failed European Tremendous League plans, can have 24 groups and begin in August subsequent yr.
It is going to supply $100m in prize cash with $11.6m for the winner. CAF additionally intends to pay every African soccer affiliation $1m yearly from the league’s earnings. There are 54 member associations of CAF.
It isn’t clear whether or not CAF has finalised the checklist of golf equipment, however they’ll come from 16 completely different nations with a most of three per nation.
They may play a gaggle competitors first, divided into three teams of eight golf equipment, earlier than nearly all of golf equipment transfer onto an American-style playoff system, together with wildcard berths.
CAF plans to proceed with its membership showpiece Champions League however officers mentioned there have been plans to revert again to a two-legged knockout competitors, shelling out with the group section.
When he raised the idea at a CAF seminar in Morocco in February 2020, Infantino mentioned: “We’ve got to take the 20 greatest African golf equipment and put them in an Africa league. Such a league might make not less than $200m in income, which might put it among the many high 10 on this planet.”
