FIFA president Gianni Infantino took to his Instagram page to show off the new African Football Trophy while he reckoned on its beauty.
Gianni Infantino showed off the trophy, called it beautiful, and stated that it was enormous in weight via his Instagram account.
The FIFA President shared the few seconds video on his page while admitting that the competition will change African football.
In the video, Infantino said: “I am with the beautiful and prestigious winners’ trophy of the new African Football League which begins today [Friday, October 20, 2023] in 🇹🇿 Tanzania.”
“This competition is a great and effective way of taking African football to the next level.”
“It will help these teams develop the footballing and financial muscle to consistently match.”
Gianni Infantino also added “..and perhaps then defeat – the very best the rest of the world has to offer. 🤝”
“I look forward to the opening ceremony and the first match in Dar es Salaam – my best wishes to all involved,” Gianni Infantino concluded.
The competition will feature 8 teams this year but will have more in 2024 with Simba Sports Club and Egyptian outfit Al Ahly opening the new competition with a 2-2 draw.
The African Football League will run concurrently with the CAF Champions League and the FIFA chief revealed that it will “change the landscape of African football.”
Gianni Infantino stated this after the Continental Super League opener at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on Friday, 20th October, 2023.
Gianni Infantino was present at Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania as the new competition kicked off in front of a capacity 60,000-strong crowd.
The FIFA President also revealed that a 24-team tournament would have $200 million in prize money and keep top talent in Africa with potential to turn the continent into a leader in the world game.
This was stated four years before now with the competition set to be completed in 17 days and with each team guaranteed $1 million for taking part with $4 million going to the winner.
Gianni Infantino
Giovanni Vincenzo “Gianni” Infantino is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the president of FIFA since the FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016.
Infantino was born on 23rd March, 1970 and he was re-elected in June 2019 and in March 2023.
In January 2020, Gianni Infantino was also elected a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Infantino was born in Brig, Switzerland and he is a son of Italian immigrant parents from Calabria and Lombardy in Switzerland and has the citizenship of both countries.
He studied law at the University of Fribourg and he speaks French, German and Italian as his first languages, and also speaks Arabic, English, Portuguese and Spanish.
The African Football League
The African Football League, otherwise known as the AFL, is an annual continental club football competition run by the CAF that kicked off in October 2023.
The AFL was announced on 28th November, 2019 by Infantino and it was initially launched as the Africa Super League on 10 August 2022.
The Competition is set to include twenty-four elite African clubs with a promotion/relegation system, but is scaled down to eight teams for its inaugural campaign.
As we stated earlier, it will run alongside CAF’s other main club competition, the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, and will not be a replacement for them.
How Does The AFL Work?
During the launch event in 2022, the first details of the format were given:
- The competition would have 24 teams divided into three regionalized groups (North, Central/West, South/East), for eight teams per group, and there would be a maximum of three teams per country.
- The teams would have been from 16 countries, representing approximately 1 billion people.
- The competition would have 197 matches (with a maximum of 21 matches played by the finalists) and promotion/relegation play-offs.
- The final would have been played in a single match, with the final designed to become “the Super Bowl of Africa”
Eight teams will compete in a knockout format for the 2023 edition, with two-leg quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds.
Beginning with the 2024–2025 campaign, the previously disclosed format will be followed.
