African Football League remains ambitious project but not viable now – Africa Clubs Association Deputy Chair Jessica Motaung

Jessica Motaung, Deputy Chairperson of the Africa Clubs Association, has provided insights into why the African Football League (AFL) was abruptly put on hold.

The AFL, which launched in 2023 with a scaled-down eight-team inaugural edition, saw Mamelodi Sundowns, under former coach Rulani Mokwena, lift the trophy.

Despite initial excitement and strong continental interest, the competition has yet to resume, fading quickly from the spotlight after its debut.

Motaung, who also serves as a Kaizer Chiefs board member and marketing director, described the AFL as an ambitious project that is not yet sustainable.

“I think it’s a lot of factors. Currently, it’s on hold, and again, I think it’s building strong leads first before you start having an elite league. It didn’t even work in Europe, so we need to look at why it didn’t work in Europe and its number of things: it’s scheduling, it’s definitely the scheduling, and I think you can see even recently, players are exhausted, they are playing a lot of games,” Motaung said.

“There are a lot of tournaments, a lot of competitions, you look at players who played in the Club World Cup with the change now, they are exhausted. So, we have to sit down and look at the calendar.”

“What happens to domestic leagues, which are very important as well. So, there are a lot of questions around it, so there was a pilot. We have to sit down and look at how that pilot worked and whether it’s something that can be replicated again.

“But I think for us right now it’s to build the clubs and make sure they are sustainable. Build the leagues and have the right competitions that are in place.”

She added that domestic leagues must be strengthened before an elite continental competition can thrive.

“We also need to look at, you can’t create this elite league if you haven’t strengthened the local leagues. One of the questions I asked when it came up was. How is it going to affect the PSL? That’s why it became a one-month event rather than a league that’s happening all the time, because initially it was gonna be a league that was gonna happen all the time.”

Motaung emphasized that the priority is building financially viable clubs and leagues.

“We’ll be signing and working on an MOU with FIFA to collaborate with them as well and then going out there and trying to find funding and resources to further really uplift African football and African club football because at the end of the day, clubs are the foundation of the game,” she added.

Highlighting successful league models, she noted, “A lot of people forget that, and I think also the structures are very different in other areas where maybe clubs are government owned, and I think South Africa as a league, as an example, and also you look at the leagues in North Africa, an example of how leagues can be independent, can thrive, can generate revenue.

“So, the key part for me is how do we start helping and how do I use my experience from Chiefs and the league to start building stronger leagues on the continent and to create viable clubs and viable leagues that actually can stand alone.”