Battle looms for African football broadcast rights

A radical overhaul of Africa’s top football tournaments looks set to spark a scramble for lucrative broadcast rights as the African game’s governing body seeks to shore up its finances.

Despite long-standing pressure from European clubs, the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision late last month to switch its biennial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to a four-year cycle caught many in the industry by surprise. The continent’s flagship tournament will move to this new rhythm from 2028, aligning with European football calendars, after years of lobbying from Western club managers who complained their top African players were unavailable during AFCON season. Meanwhile, a new annual intra-continental competition called the African Nations League (ANL) is set to be played every year from 2029 in September, October, and November during breaks in the international football calendar.

Analysts told Semafor the scarcity created by the switch to a four-year AFCON cycle would likely raise the value of future broadcast packages once the current agreement between CAF and New York-headquartered media rights agency IMG expires after the ongoing AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco. AFCON is CAF’s biggest revenue earner, with the 2023 edition in Côte d’Ivoire generating a record $72 million profit. AFCON 2025 is projected to generate $193 million in total revenue, according to CAF estimates, with nearly $47 million drawn from media rights deals and $126 million from sponsorships.

“Unlike in Europe where the Champions League is [European governing body] UEFA’s bread-and-butter, and not the Euros, CAF relies on AFCON for revenue,” said Imran Otieno, managing editor of African sports publication Mozzart Sport, who noted that the scheduling of AFCON would also be key to avoid competing for eyeballs with the Euros. He added that the introduction of the ANL was “designed to plug the broadcast and sponsorships revenue shortfall expected in the years that AFCON would not be taking place.”

Ndeye Diarra, founder of African sports analytics firm Africa Scores, said the new AFCON cycle would likely raise the value of future CAF broadcast rights packages. She cautioned, however, that broadcasters would also have to factor in fast-changing consumption habits on the continent. Africa Scores’ new Next Billion Fans report, based on a survey of fans in six African countries, found that 41% of fans primarily consume football content on their mobile devices, just ahead of the 40% watching games on TV.