Nigerian league champions Enyimba will face Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the inaugural African Football League (AFL) after the draws for the much talked about competition were held in Cairo on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
According to CAF, the competition is designed to showcase the best of African club football and provide football fans in Africa and around the world, the opportunity to see and enjoy the very best of the beautiful game on the African Continent.
The fixtures of the Inaugural AFL competition are structured on a home-and-away basis. The competition starts with knock-out quarter-finals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final; all of which are played over two legs.
Enyimba, who were recently dumped out of the CAF Champions League, will make do with the AFL which kicks off later in October. Finidi George’s side will host the Moroccan giants at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo before a trip to Casablanca for the return leg.
Other pairings aside Enyimba vs Wydad include; Esperance will face TP Mazembe, Mamelodi Sundowns vs Petro Atletico and Simba vs Al Ahly is the final match-up.
According to the calendar, this historic Inaugural edition of the AFL will take place over four weeks, kicking off with the Opening Ceremony and the first match on 20 October 2023 in Dar es Salam, Tanzania between Simba and Al Ahly. The semi-finals will take place between 29 October and 1 November, while, the final matches which will determine the winner of the Inaugural AFL competition will take place on 5 and 11 November 2023.
In a related development, contrary to widespread reports, the monetary reward for the competition has been agreed upon as follows; The champion gets $2.5 million, the runner-up gets $2 million, and for participation in the AFL, each club gets $700,000.
The Inaugural AFL is a precursor to the fully-fledged AFL competition which will feature the 24 highest-ranked football clubs on the African Continent and will commence during the 2024/2025 football season.
Winners of the championship supported by FIFA are expected to earn $2.5m while each participating team will earn $700,000.
Full Fixtures
Simba SC (Tanzania) vs Al Ahly (Egypt)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) vs Esperance (Tunisia)
Enyimba FC(Nigeria) vs Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) vs Petro Atletico (Angola)
