Monday 26/January/2026 – 10:16 PM
The 2025 African Cup of Nations was a historic success on the commercial and economic levels, after it transformed from a mere continental sporting event into a global platform attracting investment, sponsors and broadcast rights, in an unprecedented boom led by the commercial and marketing sector of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), under the management of the Egyptian Hassan Al-Qammah, head of the commercial sector and television broadcasting.
A great marketing success for the African Nations Championship Morocco 2025
The 2025 edition witnessed an exceptional expansion in the sponsor base, as the number of official sponsors increased to 23, compared to only 9 sponsors in the 2021 edition, which represents an increase ranging between 70 and 80%, and is a clear indication of the radical shift in the marketing value of the tournament, and its ability to attract major brands from different continents.
For the first time in the history of continental football tournaments, CAF succeeded in signing a strategic partnership with the international company Konami, which allowed the African Cup of Nations to be included among the most famous video games in the world, and the possibility of playing the AFCON tournament on PlayStation devices and all gaming platforms, with the participation of all official sponsors, in a step that opened new horizons for digital marketing and reaching young age groups around the world.
The tournament also witnessed the signing of a historic agreement with the European Union, to become a sponsor of an African championship for the first time in history, in addition to attracting international companies from Japan, and three major companies from China, as well as sponsors from Germany, France, the United States, Russia and Turkey, in addition to Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire, in an unprecedented geographical expansion that reflects the growing international confidence in African football and its marketing products.
At the level of television broadcasting, the 2025 African Cup of Nations achieved a qualitative leap in media spread, as the number of broadcasting channels increased from 60 channels in the 2021 edition, to 81 channels in the 2023 edition, reaching 140 channels around the world in the 2025 edition, with an increase rate ranging between 70 and 80%, which contributed to maximizing the value of broadcast rights and expanding the viewership base globally.
The commercial boom was clearly evident in the volume of revenues, as the tournament’s revenues jumped from about $70 million in the 2021 edition, to more than $100 million in 2023, before exceeding $220 million in the 2025 edition, with a growth rate of more than 100%, making the tournament one of the most profitable continental competitions in the world.
Successes included the activation of the CAF Store project, which allowed the official sale of Confederation of African Football products, whether through traditional stores or electronic platforms, which provided a new and sustainable source of income, and contributed to maximizing the commercial value of the tournament and strengthening CAF’s identity as an independent brand capable of competing globally.
These indicators confirm that the 2025 African Cup of Nations was not just an organizational or technical success, but rather an integrated model in modern sports management, reflecting a real transformation in the way African football is marketed and its resources are maximized, in a way that serves the development of the game at the level of the entire continent.
CAF owes credit to Hassan Al-Qammah for this revolution, as he is considered one of the most prominent Arab names in the field of sports management and marketing at the international level.
Al-Qamah has a strong academic background that combines economics, management, and sports law, as he obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from the American University in Cairo, a master’s degree in sports management from the University of San Francisco in the United States of America, in addition to a master’s degree in sports law and sports management from FIFA, as well as a leadership preparation diploma from the University of Oxford.
Al-Qamah has more than 15 years of experience in the field of sports management, during which he worked in the American Football League. He also served as head of the commercial sector at Sela Sports Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and participated in organizing three editions of the World Cup in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
Since assuming the position of Head of the Commercial Sector and Television Broadcasting at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2023, Al-Qamah has led a comprehensive development strategy that has reshaped the commercial form of the Confederation’s tournaments, and its most prominent culmination was the record success achieved by the 2025 African Cup of Nations, bringing the tournament into a new phase of economic and marketing professionalism on the global scene.
