The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has abandoned a deal worth at least $1bn in secured income over eight years. This decision was made because the governing body switched the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) from a biennial to a four-yearly event.
Luxolo September, CAF’s head of communications, confirmed that the change in Afcon frequency is entirely responsible for the abandonment of the 2025 bidding round, which was nearing completion. The CAF executive committee made a unanimous decision on 20 December 2025 to move the Afcon to a four-year cycle, aligning it with the international match calendar.
This significant decision materially changed the scope of commercial rights available for tender, meaning the 2025 Invitation To Tender process could not continue in its existing form. CAF opened a fresh tender on 23 July for the marketing and commercial rights of the 2028, 2032, and 2036 Afcon tournaments, with bidders having until 24 August to submit their bid books.
It has been seven years since CAF secured a long-term financial deal. A previous $1bn "minimum guarantee" revenue contract with French company Lagardère, signed in 2015, was unilaterally terminated in December 2019. This led to CAF paying Lagardère a final settlement of $50m for breach of contract before the 2022 World Cup.