AFL: Enyimba to meet Wydad clash in the quarter-final

Fresh from crashing out of the CAF Champions League, Enyimba of Aba faces the daunting task of winning the inaugural African Football League competition after being drawn against Wydad Casablanca in the quarter-final of the competition,.

The draw for the African Football League took place in Cairo on Saturday and will be held between October 20 and November 11, 2023.

Enyimba will face the winner of the quarter-final clash between TP Mazembe and Esperance.

The draw also paired Mamelodi Sundowns with Petro de Luanda in the quarter-finals and they will face the winner between Simba SC and Al Ahly in a potential semi-final clash.

Participation in the African Football League comes with a substantial N529m fee for the qualified clubs, underlining the significance and prestige of this new competition.

The nine-time NPFL champions will play their home games at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo.

The competition was initially called the Africa Super League when launched in Tanzania last year, but CAF president Patrice Motsepe said the name was changed after advice from undisclosed Europeans.

“Our friends in Europe advised us not to use the expression ‘super league’,” Motsepe said.

“This advice was based on negative associations with the failed attempt in 2021 to launch a super league in Europe.”

The project has been in the pipeline since it was first suggested by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in early 2020 and met with almost none of the derision and outrage that followed a similar attempt in Europe last year.