CAF reports a 61% rise in AFCON 2025 viewership, with Morocco 2025 attracting record audiences across Europe, Asia, and the Americas

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reported a 61 per cent increase in global viewership for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, highlighting the tournament’s rapid rise as one of the world’s fastest-growing sporting events.

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Preliminary figures released on CAF’s official platform indicate that expanded broadcast coverage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas drove much of the growth.

CAF’s full report, prepared by global research firm Nielsen, is expected in the coming weeks.

The Morocco-hosted tournament, staged between December 21, 2025, and January 18, 2026, saw Senegal crowned champions, with Morocco finishing second and Nigeria third.

According to CAF, strengthened commercial and media partnerships, particularly with sports marketing agency IMG, contributed to a 50 per cent rise in international broadcast partners compared to the 2023 edition in Côte d’Ivoire.

CAF reported that new broadcast agreements reached previously untapped markets, including Japan, China, South Korea, Mexico, Greece, and Colombia, making Morocco 2025 the most widely distributed AFCON tournament to date.

Emerging markets also played a key role, with South America seeing more than 24 million viewers in Brazil and nearly two million in Mexico.

European viewership surged as well, with the final drawing over three million viewers in the United Kingdom via Channel 4 and more than four million in Germany on Sports Digital.

Asian audiences contributed to the growth, with India’s final stream on FanCode attracting over 800,000 viewers.

CAF emphasised that its media strategy including in-house content production and expanded highlights distribution boosted brand partner exposure by more than 65 per cent across European and South American markets.

Key performance indicators include a 32 per cent rise in media value for European partners and a 35 per cent growth in overall media rights revenue across South America, Europe, and Asia.

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“These preliminary results reinforce AFCON’s commercial strength and global relevance,” CAF stated, noting that the competition continues to attract new audiences and investment well beyond Africa.