The African Football League could create another impasse with the PSL for its proposed expanded version, where Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs could be rivals to Mamelodi Sundowns on the continent.
The Brazilians were the only South African representatives in the inaugural AFL tournament, which was reduced to start in the quarter-finals with eight teams, in a knockout format after initial plans to have 24 teams were shelved, reportedly due to not getting enough sponsors.
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The so-called African Super League initially earmarked Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs from South Africa to form part of the 24 teams, with an overall prize money of $100 million, according to reports.
The PSL was initially against Sundowns participating in the tournament mainly due to fixture chaos it anticipated and although the matter was resolved, there could be further problems next season, should another South African club be invited in the expanded competition, as the AFL threatens the smooth running of the domestic league.
Cape Town City chairman John Comitis, who serves in the PSL executive committee and is part of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the League, says the expanded version of the AFL threatens the commercial viability and success of the PSL.
"I don't think anyone in our organisation is against progress for football in the African continent but certainly not at the detriment of our local product," Comitis said on Metro FM Sports.
"We've taken 20 years with the vision of Dr. Khoza and Kaizer Motaung to build an industry in South Africa that is unsurpassed. This could affect us seriously down the line and we don't want to be just another African country that has a very disorganized league without revenues, without funding.
"It's not about the money, it's about the time they use to fixture the fixtures, we've got the league to run here, we've got commitments to sponsors, we've got commitments to broadcasters, we can't fit in certain fixtures especially if the league (AFL) increases in size. This thing crashed in Europe, for the same thing. It was a selected group of teams, it was a commercial entity, it was about money, big boys with the big bucks playing games for big wins, no promotion, no relegation," he added.
There could be two camps in the PSL's BoG when the AFL matter is discussed again for next season, with Sundowns on one side and either Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs, or both, on the other side in different stances should they be invited in the AFL, as the two Soweto giants could have the responsibility to protect the commercial interests of the league.
