The Confederation of African Football says the Africa Cup of Nations has recorded a 61 per cent growth in global viewership, positioning the tournament as one of the fastest-growing sporting events in the world.
CAF disclosed this in preliminary research figures released on its website on Monday, ahead of the full report on the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025.
The full report is expected to be published by independent global research agency Nielsen in the coming weeks.
According to CAF, the surge in viewership was driven largely by record global coverage secured across major media platforms in Europe and other key markets.
“Preliminary research numbers released by independent research agencies have shown a 61% growth in viewership for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025, making AFCON one of the biggest growing sporting properties globally,” the continent’s governing body said.
PUNCH Online reports that AFCON 2025, which ran from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, was hosted by Morocco. Senegal, Morocco, and Nigeria secured the first, second and third positions, respectively.
The United Kingdom and France were identified as the leading territories contributing the largest share of the growth for the tournament.
CAF also said its commercial partnership with global sports marketing agency IMG resulted in a 50 per cent increase in the number of international broadcast partners across Europe and other major markets.
The expanded broadcast reach included first-time media deals in Japan, China, South Korea, Mexico, Greece and Colombia, making the Morocco 2025 edition the most widely distributed AFCON tournament globally to date.
CAF said audience numbers also increased significantly in South America, where more than 24 million viewers in Brazil watched the competition, while Mexico accounted for almost two million viewers.
The body noted that the figures showed South America had become an emerging market where AFCON is building new audiences.
It added that its global media distribution strategy — which included in-house shoulder content production and highlights distribution — resulted in more than a 65 per cent rise in media exposure for brand partners in European and South American markets.
CAF highlighted several key indicators behind the tournament’s growth.
These include “50% increase in international broadcast partners since the 2023 edition of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d’Ivoire
“A 32% uplift in media value for partners in the European market
“A 35% increase in overall media rights revenue across South America, Europe and Asian markets for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025.”
Audience figures also showed strong growth in Europe and Asia.
In the United Kingdom, more than three million viewers watched the tournament final on Channel 4, while Germany recorded a record audience of more than four million viewers for the final on Sports Digital.
CAF also said India emerged as a new market for the competition, with the final streamed on FanCode and attracting more than 800,000 viewers.
The body added that new broadcast agreements were secured with platforms including DAZN in Japan, NAVER and STN in South Korea, Douyin, Leisu and Zhibo8 in China, Fox and Claro Sports in Mexico, Movistar in Spain, Win Sports in Colombia, ERT in Greece, VG in Norway, Cablenet in Cyprus and Medianet in the Maldives.
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