PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – NOVEMBER 12: CAF President Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino hand the trophy to Mamelodi Sundowns captain Themba Zwane during the African Football League, Final – 2nd Leg match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Wydad AC at Loftus Versfeld on November 12, 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Sources close to the club have indicated that they received correspondence indicating that CAF is working on expanding the AFL to include more teams when compared to the eight that competed last year.
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The sources added that while they haven’t heard any updates regarding the prize money, they expect it to remain at around R74 million, despite some reports that the winners could receive a bigger financial reward.
“We have been told that the AFL will only be played next year in 2025 as there were other logistics which CAF had to look at including the expansion of the league to 24 teams. What we were told was there are more teams that are to be included in the AFL, so yes, that’s true as far as we know that CAF has postponed the AFL to next year,” the insider told the Siya crew.
A second Siya source discussed the prize money related to the amount of teams for the next AFL tournament.
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“You know there are more fixtures for the club like Sundowns next year with the FIFA Club World Cup and other players also playing in the Afcon in Morocco if South Africa qualifies and all that. But as for the money issues we have not been told whether it will be increased or not,” said the second source close to the club.
“So, we are just focusing on defending that trophy and winning the R74 million once again. The club knows that it won’t be easy and that’s why you see that they are having a well-balanced squad for all the competitions they are playing in,” the source added.
The Brazilians won the inaugural AFL by defeating Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca 3-2 on aggregate in the final last year. Downs are motivated to defend their title and compete at the highest level possible in the many tournaments they are entered in this season.
As CAF works on expanding the league, the club remains focused on maintaining a balanced squad to navigate the challenges of these multiple competitions. The prize money and the expanded format will be key factors to watch for as the tournament approaches.
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