30 September 2023 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Member Associations representing the 54 African Countries that are Members of CAF have attended several meetings which were hosted by CAF, over the past two years, where the significant contributions of the African Football League (“AFL”) to the development and growth of African Club and National Team football was discussed.
The Association is also aware of the meetings over the last two years in which the Chairmen and Representatives of the major football Clubs in Africa were briefed by CAF of the formation and the launch of the African Football (previously “Super”) League.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly which took place in August 2022 in Tanzania took a decision establishing and launching the African Football League. The recent CAF Ordinary General Assembly which took place in July 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire took a decision that all African football Federations, Professional Leagues and football Clubs must participate in all CAF Competitions to make football in Africa globally competitive and self-supporting. This decision was partly in response to the non-participation, over the years, by certain National Teams in the African Nations Championships (“CHAN”) Competition.
SAFA fully supports the decisions that were taken by the CAF Ordinary General Assembly in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire and furthermore supports the participation by the South African National Team and Football Clubs in all CAF Competitions.