while this would be problematic for african football, it's not quite an apples to apples comparison to the ESL. even in a closed ASL, those players are still playing to get to europe and european money. this is still a feeder league. in the ESL, those teams are the top of the top as far as money is concerned. that would create a dilemma that this just won't. does this seem insanely hypocritical at first glance? yes. but there's more to it. the effect this league will have on global football is negligible compared to the ESL. it's all about the $$ boys and girls. and the big $$ is in europe. ESL fucks up football globally. ASL fucks up it continentally which, sadly, people will be willing to live with since that continent isn't europe. it's shitty, but not financially impactful enough in the big picture to be viewed as shitty enough for the same sort of outrage we saw re:ESL