- Sports industry in Africa is expected to grow by 8 percent in 3 to 5 years according to advisory giant PwC
- Currently, milions of Africans, including businesses based in the continent that have pumped millions into the tournament, are following the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2023 finals in Ivory Coast.
- In 2021, Cameroon invested over $800 million in preparations for that year’s AFCON finals.
The 2021 African football continental showpiece—Cup of Nations (AFCON)—saw Cameroon attract millions of spectators both physically and virtually, a scenario that is music to the ears of sponsors. This further fortifies the fact that sports in Africa have the potential to generate billions of dollars.
Fast forward to 2030, Morocco is poised to become the second African country to ever stage a World Cup after South Africa in 2010, marking a historic step in African football and the business value chain that comes with the sport.
In the four years leading up to the World Cup in South Africa, FIFA recorded a profit of $631 million. The tournament itself played a significant role in this financial success, contributing 87 per cent of FIFA’s total $4.19 billion turnover.
FIFA’s financial report for that period revealed that the organization’s expenditure amounted to $3.56 billion, surpassing the budget by $105 million. This excess spending was attributed to additional investments in football development and a $31 million overspend specifically related to the 2010 World Cup.
In the same vein, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the region’s governing body for soccer, generated over $125 million in revenue via the competitions that it organized.
On top of that, CAF’s paid-out distributions peaked at almost $65.7 million as of the same year. The latest data revealed during the Intra-African Trade Fair 2023 show that the region’s sports industry was valued at $5 billion.
Sports, including African football, are garnering unprecedented global attention and benefits. Whether it is Sadio Mane’s agility playing for Senegal, Mohammed Salah’s exploits with Egypt, or Mbwana Samatta’s trailblazing courage to push new entrants like Tanzania in AFCON2024, the African football industry is incredibly entertaining and profitable, too.
As the global sports market size expands from $370 billion in 2022 to forecasted figures of $677.6 billion by 2028, there is more to spread around, particularly in the African football landscape.
However, PwC Global Sports Survey 2023, argues that Africa is expected to grow at a rate of 8 percent over the next three to five years.
This growth is pointed towards the emergence of a sports business driven by the continent’s youthful population with an appetite to consume sports entertainment from various categories such as basketball, boxing and African football, too.
Data from KPMG shows that the continent has been a catalyst for the runaway success in European Leagues and a market for agile players as over 500 African football players are currently contracted across 11 vibrant leagues in Europe.
Read also: AFCON sponsor injects US$10 billion into EACOP
African Football Sports Industry
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa contributed over $5 million to the GDP of the continent’s most advanced economy. The gains included a direct impact on labor, with more than 1000 jobs created through infrastructure construction and hospitality, underscoring how the sector holds massive potential for the region at large.
There is much to tap into in terms of resources across the African football industry. The sector is vastly diverse in terms of income generation, ranging from TV distribution, fitness, ticketing, betting, and advertising to sponsorship or merchandise.
Thanks to modern technology and comprehension of sports, particularly within the spectator and participatory sports dynamic. Spectator sports include the presentation of sporting events by teams and clubs or independent athletes.
Furthermore, various sources of revenue include clubs and sports teams, event revenue, media rights, sponsorship, and merchandising.
Taking the AFCON finals as an example, plenty of benefits can be traced over the years. Apart from the infrastructural boosts that revamp social structures and refresh city operations with currency flowing as tourists flock, entertainment and tourism benefits along the flow.
Information from Africa News, and data from CAF indicate that the 2019 AFCON competition held in Egypt provided massive revenue to the host nation, marking at least $83 million—a better result far from the 2015 and 2017 editions in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, respectively.
Sports bring and remind host nations of the potential they hold and could exploit over the course of the competitions. The CAF’s decision to strip Cameroon of the opportunity to host AFCON championship games due to poor preparations and security concerns confirmed the necessity for the region’s sports industry to be aligned correctly.
Although sports events such as AFCON occur for a short period, the benefits are essential and do trickle towards a long-term frequency, in terms of reputation and boosting the local economy.
“The Confederation of African Football made the defining decision to move the AFCON to odd-numbered years for many reasons. One of those may have included optimizing TV rights acquisition purchases as in odd years. But away from TV rights, another major revenue stream of the AFCON for CAF is the jostle for brand association and equity. In the 2013 edition, Pepsi, Adidas, Standard Bank, Samsung, and Puma all continued with existing contracts of partnership running through 2016 (Samsung’s deal ran until 2015),” Africa News report commented in part.
Read also: Cameroonians out to make a kill as AFCON kicks off
AFCON competitions in Ivory Coast
The AFCON games currently taking place in Ivory Coast are attracting a large swath of eyeballs across the continent and abroad—a necessary outcome that fuels sports in the country and the region at large.
On the same note, it is rather interesting that all participating teams at the 2019 competition will take home at least $600,000. The winner of the 2019 AFCON trophy took home $4.5 million in addition to the trophy.
“It is on record that last year’s winner and defending champions, Cameroon, got $4 million for winning the 2017 AFCON. Runners-up, Egypt, received $2 million, while Burkina Faso and Ghana, the two semifinalists, went home with $1.5 million each,” Africa News noted.
This is evident with another West African football goldmine, Cameroon. According to information from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Cameroonian government spent $885 million renovating and upgrading infrastructure, hospitals, roads, airports, hotels, and other sports-related facilities; the amount spent on this sports tournament was the highest of any previous edition.
More importantly, the OECD pointed out that, long after the tournament, Cameroon will benefit from the renovations and upgraded infrastructure, which will increase its global exposure and provide opportunities for more foreign direct investment.
A great example of the latter is Tanzania’s local Derby, featuring long-time rivals Simba and Yanga, who draw thousands of fans into stadiums and millions watching and betting.
Multiple companies have invested and are investing in the African football sector, which was once an industry struggling for funds. Vodacom Tanzania and the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) have injected billions of Tanzanian shillings into the national football league, currently branded as the NBC Premier League.
According to information from Tanzania Digest, by the year 2022/2023, Yanga Football Club reported $66 million in revenue. Meanwhile, their counterparts Simba reported that they received more than $47 million in revenue.
The latter wasn’t an overnight success; losses were a normal thing for years. Similarly, when it came to broadcasting, the journey was grim and tough as companies entered and exited the space often.
Tanzania, which is slated to host the AFCON 2027 finals, plans to extract as much potential and benefits from the championships, drawing millions of participants physically and virtually, from fans to tourists, and making a tidy sum out of the tourney.
Sports are not mere entertainment or leisure anymore; it is an important ecosystem of the economy, creating jobs and supporting livelihoods for African youth.
Read also: Africa’s unlimited sports potential for the economy
