CAF Increases AFCON 2025 Prize Money and Plans African Nations League

As attention now turns to AFCON 2025 in Morocco, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced a significant increase in the prize money for the winners, boosting it from $7 million (£5.2m) to $10 million (£7.5m).

The surprise announcement came from CAF president Patrice Motsepe during a meeting of the executive committee in Morocco ahead of the tournament’s kickoff. “We have the most exciting new structure for African football,” Motsepe said.

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Patrice Motsepe also confirmed that from 2028, the Africa Cup of Nations will switch from a biennial to a four-year cycle.

“I do what is in the interests of Africa. The global calendar has to be significantly more synchronised and harmonised,” he explained.

The last biennial edition will take place in 2027 across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, followed by another tournament in 2028, with hosts yet to be decided.

CAF has faced scheduling challenges for years, with the majority of recent tournaments held midway through the European club season.

While the confederation originally aimed for June-July tournaments from 2019 onwards, weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic forced editions in Cameroon (2021) and Ivory Coast (2023) into January and February.

This year’s Morocco finals will be held over Christmas and New Year for the first time, with the final on 18 January 2025.

In addition to prize money increases and the quadrennial AFCON cycle, Patrice Motsepe announced a new annual competition: the African Nations League, set to begin in 2029.

“Every year in Africa, the best African players who play in Europe will be with us on the continent,” he said.

The tournament will feature all 54 member nations split into four zones, with six nations in the Northern zone and 16 nations in the Eastern, Western, and Central and Southern zones.

Matches will take place in September and October, with champions from each region meeting in November to determine an overall winner. “We are going to have a world-class competition every year,” Motsepe added.

CAF remains committed to investing the revenue from AFCON back into African football, even as the confederation adapts to global scheduling demands.

With prize money increased, a new annual competition, and a move to a four-year AFCON cycle, African football is set for a transformative few years.