[1][2] It was announced on 28 November 2019 by Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA and it was initially launched as the Africa Super League on 10 August 2022 in Tanzania and was to include twenty-four elite African clubs with a promotion and relegation system, but is scaled down to eight teams for its inaugural edition in 2023 that won by Mamelodi Sundowns.

Gianni Infantino launched the tournament during a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to celebrate the 80th anniversary of TP Mazembe, saying the top 20 clubs in Africa should be chosen and made to participate in an African league.

[5] saying "Our friends in Europe advised us not to use the expression Super League due to the negative associations with the recent failed attempt in European football."

On 13 June 2023, during that year's CAF General Assembly in Abidjan, Infantino announced that the competition would be scaled back to 8 teams for the inaugural edition and would now kick off on 20 October 2023,[6] which would be followed by an expanded tournament further down the line.

The current continental championships in Africa experience weak infrastructure and high travel costs for fans and teams, which will not be automatically resolved by this new competition.