From December 21, world will witness the footballing spectacle on offer in the 35th edition of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Hosted by Morocco, a total of 24 nations (including host nation) will fight for the coveted title. In many ways, the importance of AFCON to the African continent is similar to what the FIFA World Cup means to the globe. For the host nation Morocco, apart from the extreme pride, it is looking to use this tournament to pedal soft power in asserting itself as the ‘gateway to Africa’ and to showcase its growing ambition as a footballing nation. More so, after clinching the Arab Cup title.
AFCON 2025 also brings the opportunity for Morocco to showcase its civic and sporting infrastructural showreel as it prepares to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup along with Spain and Portugal. Morocco has reportedly spent over US ›15bn in infrastructure and urban investment drive including high-speed rail expansion, airports upgrade and port modernization as a part of building its transportation network. This is apart from the sporting infrastructure push including the tade Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world, with a capacity of 115,000 and training centres as part of its preparation for World Cup and beyond.
For this blog, we will limit ourselves to understand the business behind AFCON 2025 .
Revenue
For Confederations of African Football (CAF), AFCON 2025 is the most important tournament not only in terms of its financial ecosystem, but also its value in creating a strong commercial project for its sponsors. As per the CAF 2025-26 budget, AFCON 2025 is projected to contribute $113.8mn which is 97% of the total CAF economic profits after deducting prize money, direct expenses, CAF legacy etc.
In terms of revenue, AFCON 2025 is projected to garner $192.6mn of which sponsorship stream is the largest contributor with $126.1mn.
- Broadcast – $46.47mn
- Sponsorship – $126.16mn
- Ticketing – $19mn
This is a testament to the remarkable turnaround of CAF where it faced significant financial challenges barely four years ago.
In the broadcasting sphere, AFCON 2025 has managed to sign 20 broadcasting deals across over 30 European territories. This is a record in its own right. Considering the fact that a large number of diaspora players will be participating in the tournament who play in multiple European leagues, the expansive broadcast partnerships will boost visibility further.
Sponsorship
The most significant contributor to CAF and AFCON 2025 is the sponsorship revenue stream with an approximately 66% contributing share. The significance is both in terms of amount as well as the global stature of sponsors. Since the turnaround at CAF, sponsorship is a major stabilizing economic factor. For AFCON 2021, the sponsorship amount was recorded to be $54.25mn.
In 2023 alone, CAF announced 12 new partners and have a tiered partnership structure.
- Global Title sponsor: TotalEnergies
- Official Global Partner: Puma, VISA, 1Xbet, Royal Air Maroc, European Commission, Tecno, Suzuki, Orange
- Official Competition Sponsors: Rexona, Danone, Lonaci, Midea, Konami, Apsonic, Morocco Now, ONCF, OCP, Sidi Ali
TotalEnergies is the principal partner, signed a 8-year agreement in 2016 for a reported fee of $250mn. Another long-standing partner has been 1XBet, the Russian betting company who signed a 10-year agreement for a reported fee of $65.4mn.
As for kit sponsorship by teams, AFCON 2025 features 17 brands sharing the 24 teams. Puma is the leading supplier, kitting out five national teams, while Macron supplies for three teams and Lacatoni, for two teams, with Nike and Adidas surprisingly only represented by one team each. partnership for the 24 teams is as varied as can be having 18 apparel brands between them. For the comparison, in 2021 there were 16 brands.
Prize Money
A total $32mn has been marked by AFCON as prize money payouts since 2023, which is a 40% increase over the previous editions with winners of AFCON 2025 slated to receive $7mn along with an increase for all competitors reaching quarter final stages.
The total prize money budget of $32mn is a very significant economic boost to the African football which will benefit all. To give a perspective, Euro 2024 had a total prize money of £331mn which in USD terms is equivalent to $387mn, almost 12X of AFCON.
African Impact in European Leagues
One way to understand the importance of AFCON is by looking at the impact of players missing in the European Leagues. As per a report from KPMG in 2021, there are over 500 footballers in European leagues with Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria having the highest number of players. The number probably is higher now.
Why is this important? When we see the number of African players representing their respective countries in AFCON 2025 by league and will therefore be missing in Europe, we have a sense of their impact in European football.
Conclusion
AFCON is not just the most important tournament in Africa but is also emerging as a top global tournament. AFCON also showcases the culmination of talent and generates awareness of its vast pool of football players for future club considerations. For the people of Africa, it is uniting, it brings them together for a month of celebration of the best footballing talent that the continent offers and of course, a huge set of economic benefits expected for the host country.
In a late development, CAF president Patrice Motsepe has announced that AFCON will be held every four years from 2028. He also announced creation of an African Nations League which will take place annually from 2029.
For now, we sit back and watch the best of African football! It’s time for Africa.
