Can African Football League make a giant pace?

The competition will, according to Motsepe, bring together the biggest teams on the continent vying for honours in a league system.

The African Football League is expected to start in the group stage which will witness the league having three groups of eight teams each.

The qualified teams will then go head-to-head in the knockout stages starting from the round of 16.

Some clubs will be relegated from the league, crossing paths with new incoming teams which will be promoted.

Initially launched as Africa Super League, the name was later changed to Africa Football League due to the negative image which was associated with the name 'Super League' which collapsed in Europe a few days after it was launched.

Announcing the competition, Motsepe emphasized that it will help African football develop as the crème de la crème of elite teams across the continent look to compete for the trophy.

"The Super League is one of the most exciting developments in the history of African football. Our objective is to see our clubs compete with the best in the world," Motsepe revealed.

The CAF boss pointed out: "The intention is to use 100 Million as Prize money and do that every year so that the club which wins gets $11.5 million."

With Africa already having the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, some pundits of the game believed that the Super League will effectively overshadow CAF Champions League but such an argument is opposed by the CAF boss.

Motsepe is adamant the African Football League is a competition on its own, insisting it will not overshadow the CAF Champions League.

Initially, 24 teams from various CAF regions were targeted to take part in the maiden edition of the African Football League but there have been important changes as some of the teams could not make the grade.

According to CAF head of professional football, Muhammad Sidat, there have been important changes in the plans for the African Football League.

The showdown was set to have 24 clubs- divided into three geographical groups (North Africa, Central and West Africa, and Southern and East Africa)- featuring in it.

The number has dropped as most of the teams could not make the grade or they opted out on their own.

So far the inaugural edition of the tournament, which begins this month, will have eight teams namely Petro de Luanda from Angola, TP Mazembe from Democratic Republic of Congo, Egyptian giants Al Ahly, and Guinean powerhouse Horoya AC. 

Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Simba SC of Tanzania, Esperance de Tunis of Tunisia, and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa complete the list.

Some connoisseurs of the game, however, believe that CAF is setting up an unrealistic and unattainable target especially the huge financial returns clubs project to get.

Despite the concerns, CAF remains very committed to the course of the Super League- which is now the African Football League- and various measures including huge sponsorship packages have already been secured.

Again, one big question is, can the competition get people's attention like the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup? Only time will tell.