The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reported a US$72 million profit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals held in Côte d’Ivoire.

This announcement was made by CAF president Patrice Motsepe during the organisation’s 46th Ordinary General Assembly on Tuesday (22 October) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Motsepe, speaking at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, also revealed ambitious financial projections for CAF’s 2024-2025 fiscal year.

The football body expects revenues of nearly US$150 million, with expenditures pegged at US$138.2 million.

A significant portion of this budget—around 30%—will be directed towards development programmes and contributions to CAF’s 54 member associations, furthering the growth of African football at grassroots and professional levels.

CAF also approved a proposal to allocate an annual salary of US$50,000 to each member association president to be drawn from the US$400,000 annual contribution set aside for the federations.

Motsepe, who is expected to seek re-election next year, emphasised CAF’s long-term goal to increase revenue to US$1 billion within the next eight years.

“We are having a lot of discussions with potential sponsors,” he disclosed, highlighting the organisation’s efforts to secure financial partnerships that would bolster African football on the global stage.

In a move to directly support football development across the continent, Motsepe revealed that from 2026, CAF aims to provide each member association with US$1 million annually.

CAF is also tightening its stance on the treatment of visiting national teams. This follows an incident involving Nigeria’s national football team, who were detained at a Libyan airport for several hours before an AFCON qualifier last week.

Nigeria refused to play, alleging that Libyan authorities had diverted their charter plane to an unused airfield and held them without explanation.

“National teams must be treated with respect. If there are violations, we’ll take action,” Motsepe warned, signalling CAF’s commitment to ensuring fair and dignified treatment of all teams.

lindaikejisblog.com