Cash boost for African football

All of Caf’s main competitions will be sponsored by Orange

African football will earn almost $140m in television and marketing revenue from its competitions over the seven years to 2017.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) financial statements show a jump of more than 100 percent in revenue.

All the money is from sports agency Sportfive, which has blanket rights to the major African competitions.

The French firm is providing a minimum guarantee of $137m for the rights to six different competitions.

There will be $46.8 million for four successive editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, starting with last year’s tournament in Angola to the 2015 finals in Morocco.

Up to 2008, Caf earned $5.5 million every two years for Nations Cup rights.

A seven-year deal for the rights to the African Champions League and the African Confederation Cup, the two annual club competitions, will earn Caf $71.4 million through to 2017.

African football’s governing body was previously paid $5 million annually for the club competition rights although before 1997 they did not generate any money.

Caf will earn a further $17 million until 2015 for the African Nations Championship, a new tournament for national sides held every two years made up of locally-based players.

Sportfive, part of Lagardere Sports, has also paid $2.25 million for the rights until 2016 to the African Youth Championships at under-20 level and the African Under-17 Championship, both of which are held every two years.

The Caf financial report for 2010, released to reporters on Thursday, showed a surplus of $15.53 million, a big jump on the operating profit of under $1 million announced one year ago.