The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 has now established itself as the greatest commercial success in the history of African football, with revenues up by more than 90%, according to the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF).
CAF attributed this surge to a significant increase in the commercial partners, and the growth in media rights distribution as well as CAF venturing into new markets most notably the Far East, China, Japan, CAF wrote on its website.
According to CAF, this momentum was matched by a steady expansion of the sponsor portfolio. “The number of commercial partners increased from nine during the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 to 17 during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.”
For the 2025 edition in Morocco, CAF has continued to attract more partners and now has 23 sponsors. This expansion reflects both the attraction of new global brands and the retention of existing partners, for who the CAF AFCON has been an excellent return on investment.
Between 2021 and 2025, AFCON recorded unprecedented commercial growth, driven by a deliberate, data-led strategy that has repositioned the competition as a truly global football property, CAF recalls.
It notes that following the Côte d’Ivoire 2023 edition, the football governing body conducted an in-depth analysis to better understand audience expectations worldwide, thus providing a clear roadmap for future commercial development.
“CAF’s sponsor base now spans multiple continents, with partners originating from countries including the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, the United Kingdom and, for the first time, Turkey,” it points out. The European Union has also joined the sponsor portfolio, illustrating the expanding international appeal of the competition.
A key new pillar of CAF’s commercial strategy has been the introduction of eAFCON. For the first time in CAF history, the CAF Africa Cup of Nations has entered the eGaming space through a partnership with Konami, through its game eFootball.
CAF is currently developing the eAFCON project, marking a significant step forward for Africa’s eSports ecosystem. From upcoming editions of the Africa Cup of Nations onward, these digital assets will become an integral part of CAF’s commercial inventory.