After unexpectedly terminating their long-term contract, African football paid $50 million in an out-of-court settlement to former marketing firm Lagardere Sports, the Confederation of African Football’s congress was informed on Tuesday.
Following the abrupt cancellation of their $1 billion, 10-year agreement in 2019, the French company filed a lawsuit seeking compensation. For 20 years, Lagardere Sports owned the marketing, sponsorship, and television rights to all CAF competitions.
However, after two court decisions determined that the arrangement was not properly negotiated through a tender, CAF declared it had to terminate the relationship.
Before agreeing to a settlement, the business—now known as Lagardere Unlimited—filed a lawsuit.
According to Andrew Kamanga, deputy chairman of CAF’s finance committee, CAF paid the company in two equal installments, the last of which was made at the end of last year.
In contrast to the $4-million profit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon, CAF president Patrice Motsepe said Congress that the organisation had made a $72-million profit from this year’s championships in Ivory Coast.
CAF stated that it anticipated $138.2 million in expenses and nearly $150 million in revenue for the 2024–2025 fiscal year.
Contributions to CAF’s 54 member associations and development initiatives would account for about 30% of the budget.
A plan to use the $400,000 annual contribution to pay each organisation president $50,000 per year was accepted.
Motsepe, who is anticipated to run for reelection the following year, stated that CAF aimed to raise African football’s earnings to $1 billion over the following eight years.
“We are having a lot of discussions with potential sponsors,” he told the congress in the Ethiopian capital.
According to him, starting in 2026, CAF aims to provide each member association with $1 million annually.
