ACA backs expansion of CAF Inter-Club competitions and will put forward fresh ideas

Speaking to SABC Sport during their workshop function with the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and Botswana Football League (BFL), ACA board member Salomo Hei says there’s a feasibility study that CAF is going through about this, and as the club’s body, they are ready to play their part in this process.

"Absolutely, I mean remember that there must also be technical submissions regarding the viability of the economics that need to be undertaken, and ACA is ready to engage in the debate at that level," said Hei.

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"It is able to put together proposals and submissions that will address the details in that context because, at the end of the day, we should be able to make a compelling case for why there should be consideration for the expansion of the current structures, and as part of the ongoing work, this is what the ACA will be engaged with going forward."

The ACA believes that the time has come for both the CAF Champions League (CAFCL and CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) to be reviewed, and also feels that introducing pilot projects around this, would be perfect. This is where he’s amplifying a message for the clubs to continue taking up ACA membership. 

CAF recently increased its subvention to ACA from $ 400,000 to $ 500,000, this is supposed to allow ACA to continue driving their message of building the club football structure on the continent. This past weekend, they took their consultation drive to Botswana, as Hei explains.

The expansion of representation in the CAF Inter-club competitions is also supported by some of the so-called small clubs as this would not only benefit clubs from the big leagues in terms of eyeballs and numbers but emerging clubs as well. The preliminary qualification process could be shortened and have more teams in the group stages, as African Stars FC head coach Gerald Güther also supports the idea of increasing teams.