African Football League 2023: Teams, Schedule, Format & Preview

African club football will embark on a new era later this year when the inaugural edition of a new ‘Super League’ gets underway in October.

The tournament, which is a collaboration between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA, is designed to boost the profile of the sport across the continent.

Originally branded as the African Super League, the new competition has been renamed African Football League (AFL) due to the negative connotations attached to the word ‘super’.

The proposed launch of a European Super League (ESL) in 2021 sparked a wave of controversy, and the organisers of the African tournament were eager to avoid a similar backlash.

Read on as we look at the teams, schedule and format for the AFL, before assessing which team will emerge victorious in the inaugural edition.

African Football League 2023 – Teams

The initial proposal for the tournament featured 24 elite African clubs in a promotion/relegation system, but this has subsequently been scaled back to just eight teams.

• Al-Ahly – Egypt.
• Esperance de Tunis – Tunisia.
• Wydad AC – Morocco.
• Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa.
• Petro Atletico de Luanda – Angola.
• TP Mazembe – Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Enyimba – Nigeria.
• Simba SC – Tanzania.

African Football League 2023 – Schedule

The schedule for the 2023 AFL is as follows:

• Quarter-finals: October 20 – 24
• Semi-finals: October 29 – November 1
• Final: November 5/11.

African Football League 2023 – Format

The draw for the tournament will be made in early September. The eight teams have been placed into two pots for the draw.

• Pot 1: Al-Ahly, Esperance de Tunis, Wydad AC, Mamelodi Sundowns.
• Pot 2: Petro Atletico de Luanda, TP Mazembe, Enyimba, Simba SC.

Each tie will be played over two legs, with the team scoring the most goals advancing to the next round. In the event of a tie, the away goals rule will be applied.

If the teams cannot be separated via this method, extra time will not be played and the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

African Football League 2023 – Preview

The launch of the AFL has not met with universal approval, with many critics claiming it will only add to the widespread problems in African football.

Weak infrastructure and expensive travel costs are among the primary issues in the sport, but AFL organisers have insisted the new tournament will strive to address these.

A commitment was made to allocate significant funds from the AFL to each of CAF’s 54 members countries to develop football across the continent.

When the competition was initially launched, CAF president Patrice Motsepe claimed it would provide African club competition with a massive boost.

“We have been inundated with investors and sponsors, who are anxious to partner with us on the CAF Super League.,” Motsepe said.

“It has huge potential to significantly uplift African football and to make it even more powerful.

“A significant amount of the money from the CAF Super League will be invested back into African football.

“Part of the process involves giving $1 million every year to every one of CAF’s 54 member associations as a contribution to football and youth development.”

Since the number of teams was reduced from 24 to eight, it has not been confirmed what level of financial support will be distributed.

However, with organisers confirming next year’s tournament will have the full complement of 24 teams, member associations should receive a sizeable windfall.

Despite the scepticism about the AFL, the inaugural edition of the tournament promises to be an excellent showcase of African football.

It has already generated plenty of interest in online gambling circles, with several sites operating across the continent offering ante-post odds.

Fans of sports betting in Egypt will undoubtedly be paying close attention to the tournament given Al-Ahly are one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

Comparison websites, which rate and review sportsbooks in the African region, will help punters where to find the best odds before and during the tournament.

Having previously won a record 24 CAF competitions including 11 Champions League titles, Al-Ahly will fancy their chances of delivering a winning return for sports bettors.

TP Mazembe also boast a decent pedigree on the continental stage having claimed the CAF Champions League on five previous occasions.

Esperance de Tunis and Wydad AC have both won that tournament in the past few years, while Enyimba and Mamelodi Sundowns are also former winners.

Al-Ahly’s 3-2 aggregate victory over Wydad AC in the 2023 CAF Champions League final suggests they will be the team to wager on in the newly-launched tournament.

With the club likened in some quarters to European giants Real Madrid, they will be desperate to get their hands on yet another continental trophy and look a good bet to achieve the feat.