Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe remains cagey about when the Fifa-backed African Super League will commence amid reports that Saudi Arabia are talking to Caf about backing the competition to the tune of $200m (R3.9bn).
The Guardian reported last week that, in an agreement that could secure Africa support for future World Cups bid, Saudi Arabia is prepared to help Caf launch the Super League which was first mooted by Fifa president Gianni Infantino in 2018 and later backed by Motsepe in his bid to become Caf president.
The Super League was scheduled to start later this year, but asked about the exact date the competition will start, Motsepe said they would let everyone know when everything was in place with regard to sponsorship.
“Good progress is being made on the Super League and part of the challenge is the agreements with the sponsors,” Motsepe said on Friday in Johannesburg where he addressed Cosafa's AGM.
“I need financing for Africa and even for those clubs and those nations who are part of the Super League. Part of the strategy is to use some of the money and to share it among each and every one of the 54 associations.
“The challenge I have as president and exco is that you've got to be very careful that you get people to pay African football what it is worth. Business people always want to pay the best possible price but I need as much as possible. I need as much financial resources for African football as possible,” he said.
Motsepe cagey on Super League start as Caf pushes for agreements with sponsors
Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe remains cagey about when the Fifa-backed African Super League will commence amid reports that Saudi Arabia are talking to Caf about backing the competition to the tune of $200m (R3.9bn).
The Guardian reported last week that, in an agreement that could secure Africa support for future World Cups bid, Saudi Arabia is prepared to help Caf launch the Super League which was first mooted by Fifa president Gianni Infantino in 2018 and later backed by Motsepe in his bid to become Caf president.
The Super League was scheduled to start later this year, but asked about the exact date the competition will start, Motsepe said they would let everyone know when everything was in place with regard to sponsorship.
“Good progress is being made on the Super League and part of the challenge is the agreements with the sponsors,” Motsepe said on Friday in Johannesburg where he addressed Cosafa's AGM.
“I need financing for Africa and even for those clubs and those nations who are part of the Super League. Part of the strategy is to use some of the money and to share it among each and every one of the 54 associations.
“The challenge I have as president and exco is that you've got to be very careful that you get people to pay African football what it is worth. Business people always want to pay the best possible price but I need as much as possible. I need as much financial resources for African football as possible,” he said.
“This is in relation to sponsors and of course the partnership with governments is very important because I need them to help us build stadiums and invest in football in each of the countries.
“Remember the Super League is also part of what we're initiating with Fifa because it's an African Super League. The resources and expertise and the huge amount of resources is what we don't have at this stage in Africa. We'll make announcements in due course, but a lot of good progress has been made.”
But when pressed on the exact dates, Motsepe was again non committal.
“We'll come back to you. I think at this stage we're going to have a process where some of the clubs are going to start playing round about October this year. We'll make announcements in due course and then next year we'll have a fully-fledged process where all (24 clubs) will participate.”
Caf general secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba told the Sunday Times last month the Super League will start with eight clubs in October/November this year with the aim of expanding it to 24 teams in 2024.
The next year that Motsepe spoke about corresponds with the Guardian report which suggested the Super League will be delayed until the 2024-2025 season, when the Saudi Arabia sponsorship will kick in.
Caf signed a five-year co-operation and development partnership with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation three weeks ago.
“Caf is excited to work together and partner with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to develop and grow football on our continent and globally,” Motsepe said in a statement three weeks ago when the partnership was signed.
Despite Fifa rules not allowing Asian Football Confederation nations to host a men's World Cup until 2034 after Qatar hosted the global showpiece in 2022, it is understood Saudi Arabia are pushing for an unprecedented three-continent project, alongside Egypt and Greece, to host the 2030 World Cup.
But if the its 2030 bid fails, Saudi Arabia will definitely bid to host the 2034 World Cup and the support given to Caf, who have 54 voting associations, may come in handy.
Saudi Arabia will host the Fifa Club World Cup in December and the Asia Cup for the first time in January 2027.