marble nkomo
THE Morocco hosted Africa Cup of Nations finals have been described as the most successful commercial wise in the history of the competition.
In an unprecedented turn of events, the recorded revenue growth was 90 percent.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) announced on its website on Thursday.
Caf said the achievement was as a result of expanded sponsorship and broader media rights distribution.
Getting access to new markets in Asia had also played a part.
“The TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 is now undoubtedly the most successful commercial story in the history of African football as the commercial success of the competition has led to over 90 percent increase in the Caf revenues for the TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025,” wrote Caf on its website.
It was good to see the product breaking into new markets.
Asia has the audience numbers because of huge populations.
Caf felt that the positive figures were “driven by a significant increase in the commercial partners of Caf, increase in media rights distribution and also Caf venturing into new markets most notably the Far East, China, Japan while also consolidating traditional markets.”
Caf also noted: “The number of commercial partners increased from nine during the TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 to 17 during the TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
“For the 2025 edition in Morocco, Caf has continued to attract more partners and now has 23 sponsors.”
The football governing body said the commercial boom followed a deliberate data-driven strategy implemented after the 2023 finals in Côte d’Ivoire.
According to the statement, “The TotalEnergies Caf Africa Cup of Nations has recorded unprecedented commercial growth between 2021 and 2025, driven by a deliberate, data-led strategy that has repositioned the competition as a truly global football property.”
Caf said audience research conducted after the last edition revealed untapped interest across several regions, adding that the findings “provided a clear roadmap for future commercial engagement.”
It stated that the insights informed the current cycle with “targeted focus placed on regions demonstrating high engagement levels, including China, Japan, Brazil and key European markets.”
On its widening global footprint, Caf disclosed that its sponsor base now covered multiple continents, with partners from the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, the United
Kingdom and Turkey, while the European union had also joined as a sponsor. —Cafonline/Sports Reporter
Online Reporter