Zambia Super League giants Nkana could be among the teams that will join the new African Super League, the ZamFoot Crew understands.
40 clubs were invited to a meeting that saw CAF President Patrice Motsepe and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino address the clubs between 13:30 and 16:00 on Sunday.
Nkana Chairman Joseph Silwamba had been invited by the CAF President to watch the AFCON final between Senegal and Egypt.
According to ZamFoot Crew sources in Yaounde, Cameroon, Nkana is believed to be one of the 40 teams CAF are looking at for their ‘huge’ Super League idea.
This was confirmed by Motsepe in a round table with members of the media in Yaoundé, Cameroon today as he revealed that the ASL will kick-off in September 2023 and it is expected that the top 24 African football clubs will be part of this project.
The details on how the tournament is going to run are still sketchy at this stage and its expected that the meeting in Douala tomorrow morning will shed more light on this. Speaking after the CAF Exco meeting earlier today in Yaoundé, Motsepe revealed that more clubs will also soon be engaged on this project.
“A few years ago, I think this issue that Africa needs a huge league. And I mean, in the last few months I’ve been President, I’ve instilled a sense of extreme urgency around it,” he said.
“What excites me is that I’ve had private discussions, in fact, I’ve been approached by people who’ve never sponsored football, we want to be part of this because, it’s commercially viable.
“You know, because there’s ethics in CAF now, there’s governance, there’s transparency, there’s accountability,” said Motsepe about the possible new sponsors of the ASL.
“In the meeting that we had this morning, I said, I don’t want anybody to tell me that this league cannot be launched soon. Soon. And I’ll tell you, if it was up to me. I would want this league to start in September this year.
“So realistically, because there’s so much work that needs to be done you need to look at the league’s, you need to look at the current leagues, you need to look at the number of clubs that will participate. And some of the the media broadcasting TV companies are talking to us because they have to be part of this process as well.
The Zambia Super League is highly rated in Africa and currently ranks seventh on the continent Tin terms of quality and competition. Another team likely to be approached is Ndola-based outfit ZESCO United who reached the semifinals of the CAF Champions League in 2016.
The African Super League will kick-off in September 2023 and it is expected that the top 24 African football clubs will be part of this project.
These teams must have academies and Women’s Football teams among many other requirements, a criteria that the record 13 time Zambian Super League Champions meet.
