2023 African Football League


The 2023 African Football League was the first and only edition of Africa's newest club football tournament, the African Football League, organized by the Confederation of African Football.
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 was meant to be a precursor, as the originally announced format was supposed to be introduced starting in 2024–25, though this was later cancelled.

Schedule

The schedule was as follows.
RoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
Quarter-finals2 September 202320–22 October 202324–25 October 2023
Semi-finals2 September 202329 October 20231 November 2023
Final2 September 20235 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 to enter the tournament.
Pot 2Pot 1

  • Al Ahly
  • Wydad AC
  • Mamelodi Sundowns
  • Espérance de Tunis

  • Bracket

    The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 2 September 2023, 16:00 GMT, at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

    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.

    Semi-finals

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

    Final

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