2023 African Football League

Last updated
2023 African Football League
Tournament details
Dates20 October – 12 November 2023
Teams8 (from 8 associations)
Final positions
Champions Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns (1st title)
Runners-up Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC
Tournament statistics
Matches played14
Goals scored24 (1.71 per match)
Attendance547,000 (39,071 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of South Africa.svg Thapelo Maseko
Flag of Egypt.svg Mahmoud Kahraba
Flag of Mali.svg Sadio Kanouté
(2 goals each)
Best player(s) Flag of South Africa.svg Thapelo Maseko
Best goalkeeper Flag of South Africa.svg Ronwen Williams

The 2023 African Football League was the first edition of Africa's newest club football tournament, the African Football League, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Contents

This season was meant to be a precursor tournament to the full fledged version, which will start in the 2024–25 season, after being delayed a year.

Background

The competition, initially announced in 2022 as the Africa Super League, was to involve 24 teams divided into three geographical regions and have a promotion-relegation system. The competition was delayed from August to October 2023, renamed to the African Football League, and revised into an eight-team knockout format for its inaugural season. This season is meant to be a precursor, as the originally announced format will be introduced starting in 2024–25.

Schedule

The schedule was as follows. [1]

RoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
Quarter-finals2 September 202320–22 October 202324–25 October 2023
Semi-finals29 October 20231 November 2023
Final5 November 202312 November 2023

Format

Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then extra time was not played and the winners were decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Teams

The African Football League involved 8 teams chosen by the CAF[ how? ] to enter the tournament.

Pot 2Pot 1

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final), which was held on 2 September 2023, 16:00 GMT (19:00 local time, UTC+3), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. [1]

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Flag of Nigeria.svg Enyimba 0 0 0
Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1 3 4
Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC (p) 1 0 1 (5)
Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 0 1 1 (4)
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg TP Mazembe 1 0 1
Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 0 3 3
Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 2 0 2
Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1 2 3
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda 0 0 0
Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 2 0 2
Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1 0 1
Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly 0 0 0
Flag of Tanzania.svg Simba 2 1 3
Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly (a) 2 1 3

Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 20, 21 and 22 October, and the second legs were played on 24 and 26 October 2023. [1]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Simba Flag of Tanzania.svg 3–3 (a) Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly 2–2 1–1
TP Mazembe Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg 1–3 Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1–0 0–3
Enyimba Flag of Nigeria.svg 0–4 Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 0–1 0–3
Petro de Luanda Flag of Angola.svg 0–2 Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 0–2 0–0
Simba Flag of Tanzania.svg 2–2 Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly
Report
Al Ahly Flag of Egypt.svg 1–1 Flag of Tanzania.svg Simba
Report

3–3 on aggregate. Al Ahly won on away goals.


TP Mazembe Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg 1–0 Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis
Report
Espérance de Tunis Flag of Tunisia.svg 3–0 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg TP Mazembe
Report
Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)

Espérance de Tunis won 3–1 on aggregate.


Enyimba Flag of Nigeria.svg 0–1 Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC
Report
Wydad AC Flag of Morocco.svg 3–0 Flag of Nigeria.svg Enyimba
Report
Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)

Wydad AC won 4–0 on aggregate.


Petro de Luanda Flag of Angola.svg 0–2 Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns
Report
Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya)
Mamelodi Sundowns Flag of South Africa.svg 0–0 Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda
Report

Mamelodi Sundowns won 2–0 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

The first legs were played on 29 October, and the second legs were played on 1 November 2023. [1]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Mamelodi Sundowns Flag of South Africa.svg 1–0 Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly 1–0 0–0
Wydad AC Flag of Morocco.svg 1–1 (5–4 p) Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1–0 0–1
Mamelodi Sundowns Flag of South Africa.svg 1–0 Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly
Report
Al Ahly Flag of Egypt.svg 0–0 Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns
Report
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Issa Sy (Senegal)

Mamelodi Sundowns won 1–0 on aggregate.


Wydad AC Flag of Morocco.svg 1–0 Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis
Report
Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
Espérance de Tunis Flag of Tunisia.svg 1–0 Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC
Report
Penalties
4–5
Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)

1–1 on aggregate. Wydad AC won 5–4 on penalties.

Final

The first leg was played on 5 November, and the second leg was played on 12 November 2023. [1]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Wydad AC Flag of Morocco.svg 2–3 Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 0–2
Wydad AC Flag of Morocco.svg 2–1 Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns
Report
Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)
Mamelodi Sundowns Flag of South Africa.svg 2–0 Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC
Report

Mamelodi Sundowns won 3–2 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for the round.
RankPlayerTeamQF1QF2SF1SF2F1F2Total
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Thapelo Maseko Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 112
Flag of Egypt.svg Mahmoud Kahraba Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly 11
Flag of Mali.svg Sadio Kanouté Flag of Tanzania.svg Simba 11
4 Flag of Morocco.svg Yahia Attiyat Allah Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 11
Flag of Morocco.svg Hicham Boussefiane Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Ayoub El Amloud Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Jamal Harkass Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Yahya Jabrane Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Anas Serrhat Flag of Morocco.svg Wydad AC 1
Flag of Chile.svg Marcelo Allende Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Abdelmounaim Boutouil Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1
Flag of Namibia.svg Peter Shalulile Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1
Flag of South Africa.svg Aubrey Modiba Flag of South Africa.svg Mamelodi Sundowns 1
Flag of Morocco.svg Reda Slim Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ahly 1
Flag of Algeria.svg Mohamed Amine Tougai Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1
Flag of Brazil.svg Rodrigo Rodrigues Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1
Flag of Tunisia.svg Oussama Bouguerra Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1
Flag of Tunisia.svg Ghaith Ouahabi Flag of Tunisia.svg Espérance de Tunis 1
Flag of Mali.svg Cheick Oumar Abdallah Fofana Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg TP Mazembe 1
Flag of Tanzania.svg Kibu Denis Flag of Tanzania.svg Simba 1

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The inaugural African Football League (AFL) kicks off in October 2023 and will be preceded by official draw on Saturday 2 September 2023". Confederation of African Football. 29 August 2023.