Saudi Arabia to host 2023 CAF showcase

Article posted by Coliseum, September 5^th, 2023

Image: African Super Cup, hiroo, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Confederation of African Football (‘CAF’) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (‘SAFF’) have announced that Saudi Arabia will be this year’s host of the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup 2023 taking place on September 15^th.

‘CAF’ stated that the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup Final 2023 will be contested by the current TotalEnergies CAF Champions League champions – the Egyptian professional sports club Al Ahly SC – and Algeria’s Union Sportive de la Médina d’Alger (‘USMA’), the champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup. The match is set to be played in the City of Taif (Saudi Arabia) at the iconic King Fahd Stadium.

6^th of October City (Egypt)-based the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Africa. The CAF is the organization governing football in Africa with 54 Member-Associations.

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The CAF organizes the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations – the biggest event on African soil watched by over 500 million people globally.

Established in 1956, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) is a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the governing body for football in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responsible for overseeing grassroots development and all aspects of the amateur and professional game.

The SAFF is in charge of elevating Saudi football to new heights, offering new opportunities across the ecosystem and inspiring the nation to participate and become an influential force for good within world football. The SAFF currently administers 17 competitions for a total of 600+ teams across various age groups, most notably the annual King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup.

The SAFF manages nine national teams ranging from the U-15 age group all the way to the first team, all of which compete in 23 regional and international competitions. As part of its significant investment in women’s football, it recently established the first women’s national team and league. It is responsible for the development and upskilling of over 3,000 national coaches and 1,700 referees across the Kingdom.

Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)-based the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach football and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member-countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), joined the AFC in 2006.

The 2023 CAF Super Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup 2023 for sponsorship reasons, will be the 32^nd CAF Super Cup, an annual football match in Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), between the winners of the previous season’s two CAF club competitions, the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.

The Al Ahly Sporting Club, commonly known as Al Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest league in the Egyptian football league system.

The Union Sportive de la Médina d’Alger, known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its colors are red and black.

The 20,000-capacity King Fahd Sports City is a multiuse stadium in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia. It hosted some of the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship and 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games and Arab Club Champions Cup 2023 matches.

Enthused Veron Mosengo-Omba, CAF General Secretary, “We are excited to take the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup to a new territory in Saudi Arabia – a country that has been making significant strides in global football. African football ranks amongst the best in the world right now, and it’s fitting that, in an era where many international stars are heading to Saudi Arabia, African Football is also a part of this movement. On behalf of the CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, I would like to thank the Saudi Arabia Football family for their cooperation and we look forward to what will be an exciting TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup.”

Remarked Ibrahim Alkassim, SAFF General Secretary, “Our collaboration with the CAF to host this event exemplifies our commitment to partnering with the CAF in event hosting and match organization in line with our existing partnership. This event marks yet another milestone in our ongoing collaboration. On behalf of the SAFF President, Yasser Al Misehal, we thank the CAF for this opportunity and we look forward to a remarkable match for everyone involved.”

‘CAF’ further stated that earlier this year, the CAF and the SAFF signed a landmark five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at hosting competitions and nurturing growth opportunities for both African and Saudi football.

The MoU encompasses initiatives focusing on technical and football development at the club and national team levels, grassroots football, women’s football, talent identification, competitions, friendly matches, and commercial prospects.

Ticketing information and kickoff times will be announced in due course by both the CAF and SAFF.

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