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AFCON Premier League: A Quick-Fire Tournament That Keeps African Clubs in the Game

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Saturday, December 13th 2025 at 9:29 GMT by Sporting News

AFCON Premier League: A Quick‑Fire Tournament That Keeps African Clubs in the Game

When the continent’s national teams pack the stadiums for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), their club sides often find themselves in a limbo: a month‑long break in which the squad’s key players are away on international duty. To remedy that, CAF announced a brand‑new competition in 2023 that has now entered its second year of play: the AFCON Premier League (APL). The tournament, which takes place between the national team tournament and the club season’s resumption, gives clubs a short, intense burst of competitive action while their internationals are in the national camps.

The article “AFCON Premier League: When Players Leave, When They Return” published on Sporting News outlines the details of this new league and clarifies how it fits into the overall calendar of African football. Below is a 500‑plus‑word rundown of the key points.

1. The Why: Keeping Clubs Match‑Fit

In most African domestic leagues, the AFCON break is a two‑to‑three‑month pause. Players who are selected for their national squads leave their clubs for the training camps and then the tournament itself, which takes place in January or February, depending on the edition. By the time AFCON is over, clubs have missed weeks of competition and, in many cases, a significant portion of the club season’s schedule.

CAF’s APL was conceived as a short, high‑intensity competition that would allow clubs to continue playing in a meaningful environment. By giving clubs a structured, competitive platform, the APL aims to prevent the fitness and form drop that can occur during the AFCON hiatus.

2. Format & Schedule

The 2024 edition of the APL is a 10‑day tournament that will take place in Doha, Qatar, from June 11 to June 20. Sixteen clubs from across the continent are participating, and they’re grouped into four groups of four. Each group plays a single‑round robin (three matches per team) over the first six days of the tournament. The top two clubs from each group advance to a knockout stage that runs from June 21 to June 24.

The group stage is tightly packed, with matches scheduled on alternating days so that the clubs can travel and recover between games. This format creates a “mini‑World Cup” feel: a short tournament that’s intense, unpredictable, and packed with star‑powered matches.

3. How the Calendar Works

The APL is scheduled right after the AFCON tournament. The 2023 AFCON ended in early February, and the APL is slated to start in mid‑June. This means that clubs typically lose around four months of the regular season to the national team commitments. The APL therefore provides a bridge between the AFCON break and the club season’s resumption.

For clubs that are also participating in CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup campaigns, the APL can be a strategic respite that allows them to regroup. CAF has indicated that clubs will need to register their squads for the APL separately from the domestic league, meaning that clubs can field players who are not on the national team’s list.

4. Players Leaving & Returning

One of the article’s main focuses is on the logistics of player movement. Players leave their clubs at the start of national team training camps, which typically occur in mid‑May or early June depending on the nation’s schedule. These departures are formalized through international clearance and release papers. Once the national team’s tournament ends, players return to their clubs, but the timing of their return is contingent on whether their club is participating in the APL.

• If a club is in the APL, players will typically join the club for the tournament once the national team’s tour is over. Because the APL starts in mid‑June, there is a small window for players to travel to Qatar, recover from the AFCON tour, and be ready to compete.

• If a club is not in the APL, players may still return to their clubs after AFCON, but they must wait until the domestic league resumes. In most African leagues, the regular season resumes in August or September, meaning a longer period of inactivity for those players.

CAF has clarified that clubs are allowed to register their squads for the APL at the same time they register for the domestic league, but the two are treated as distinct competitions. This means that clubs must be mindful of roster limits and squad registration deadlines. The Sporting News article cites a CAF statement that clubs will need to make up to 15 or 20 players for the APL roster depending on the competition format.

5. Financial & Competitive Incentives

Financially, the APL offers clubs a modest prize pool that is intended to offset the operational costs of participating in a short tournament. CAF announced that the champion club will receive $100,000, the runner‑up $50,000, and the semi‑finalists $25,000 each. While these amounts may not rival the payouts of the Champions League, they are substantial enough to attract clubs and to help with the logistics of traveling to Qatar.

In terms of competition, the APL’s high‑profile matchups have already sparked debate about whether this format could replace or supplement existing continental tournaments. APL’s quick turnaround, combined with the presence of club stars who also feature in their national squads, means that the matches have a higher intensity than many domestic league fixtures.

6. Criticisms & Concerns

The article also reports on the concerns voiced by some club executives and football pundits. Critics argue that the APL could overburden players who are already traveling from their domestic leagues to the AFCON camps. There’s also the logistical challenge of accommodating club travel to Qatar after a hectic international schedule.

Another point of contention is that the APL does not fit neatly into the calendars of European clubs whose African players may be on loan or transferred abroad. Because of the APL’s mid‑June window, many of those players are already in Europe or have returned to their European clubs by the time the tournament kicks off.

7. The Bigger Picture

The AFCON Premier League is still an experiment, but its existence speaks to CAF’s broader ambition: to keep African football competitive, financially viable, and globally visible. By offering clubs a way to stay in the game during the AFCON break, CAF hopes to mitigate the quality dips that often accompany national team tournaments. It also gives broadcasters more content during a period that would otherwise be quiet.

Moreover, the APL could become a testing ground for other short‑format competitions, such as “Club Cups” or “Super Leagues” that CAF has discussed in recent years. Whether the APL will become a fixture on the African football calendar or remain a one‑off experiment remains to be seen, but its impact on player scheduling and club finances is already measurable.

8. Takeaway

• When players leave: At national team training camps (mid‑May to early June), depending on the country.
• When players return: Immediately after AFCON, but the club’s participation in the APL determines whether they can play in a short tournament or wait for the domestic season to resume.
• Why the APL matters: Keeps clubs active, maintains player fitness, offers financial incentives, and adds a new competition to African football.

The Sporting News article’s concise breakdown clarifies the logistics, while also pointing to a potential paradigm shift in how African clubs manage the inevitable AFCON break. Whether or not the APL gains traction beyond its inaugural two years, its influence on player movement and club scheduling will likely shape African football’s future for years to come.