The Saudi Tourism Authority’s subsidiary agency Visit Saudi has been revealed as the main sponsor of the inaugural African Football League (AFL) season.
In a signing ceremony hosted by the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), representatives from Visit Saudi and the AFL expressed mutual commitment to creating a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Africa through the power of football.
With the AFL kicking off on 20 October and lasting until 11 November, both CAF and Visit Saudi agreed that a potential extension of the partnership can also be rolled out for future AFL editions.
The AFL will be the tournament with the highest prize money and is shaping to also become the most competitive club football competition in Africa.
All eight clubs that will become part of the inaugural AFL season are: Al Ahly SC (Egypt), Enyimba FC (Nigeria), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa), Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Angola), Simba SC (Tanzania), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), and Wydad AC (Morocco).
A chunk of the profits generated will be used to build up the youth football academy infrastructure across all 54 African states represented by CAF’s Member Associations.
CAF recently signed a major deal with sports partnerships manager IMG until 2025, which could’ve helped with bringing Visit Saudi onboard for the AFL. The agency is already working on securing partnerships for the CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 and the CAF AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
Visit Saudi has also been ramping up its involvement in football recently, having signed Spain’s LaLiga as a partnering organisation to again boost Riyadh’s visibility on the global sports map.
