AFCON 2025 records 61% surge in global audience across Europe, Asia and South America

Early research figures indicate a significant global surge in viewership for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with audiences across Europe, Asia and South America increasing by 61 percent.

Preliminary data released by independent research agencies shows the continental showpiece continues to grow rapidly as one of the world’s fastest-rising football properties.

A full global report on the tournament’s performance will be published in the coming weeks by research agency Nielsen.

Global expansion drives growth

The impressive rise in audience numbers has largely been driven by record international coverage secured across major media platforms in Europe and other key markets.

The United Kingdom and France emerged as the biggest contributors to the tournament’s international audience growth.

A key factor behind the expansion has been the commercial partnership between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and global sports marketing agency IMG.

The collaboration led to a 50 percent increase in international broadcast partners compared to the previous tournament.

The expansion also saw AFCON broadcast in several markets for the first time, including Japan, China, South Korea, Mexico, Greece and Colombia, making the Morocco edition the most widely distributed tournament in the competition’s history.

Strong growth in South America

Interest in African football continues to rise in South America, particularly in Brazil where more than 24 million viewers followed the tournament.

Mexico also delivered strong numbers with almost two million viewers tuning in.

These figures highlight South America as a growing territory where CAF is successfully building new audiences while strengthening its presence.

Media exposure and commercial growth

CAF’s global media strategy also played a major role in boosting the tournament’s visibility. The governing body increased in-house content production and expanded the distribution of highlights and digital material worldwide.

This approach resulted in a 65 percent increase in brand partner exposure across European and South American markets alone.

Key audience and commercial highlights

Among the standout statistics from early research data are:

▪︎ 50% increase in international broadcast partners compared to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations

▪︎ 32% rise in media value for commercial partners in Europe

▪︎ 35% growth in overall media rights revenue across Europe, South America and Asia

▪︎ More than three million viewers in the UK watched the final on Channel 4

▪︎ Germany recorded over four million viewers for the AFCON final via Sports Digital

▪︎ India emerged as a new audience market, with more than 800,000 viewers streaming the final on FanCode

New global broadcast markets

The tournament also secured several new international broadcast agreements, including:

Japan – DAZN

South Korea – NAVER, STN

China – Douyin, Leisu, Zhibo8

Mexico – Fox, Claro Sports

Spain – Movistar

Colombia – Win Sports

Greece – ERT

Norway – VG

Cyprus – Cablenet

Maldives – Medianet

The strong global numbers underline the growing worldwide appeal of the Africa Cup of Nations as CAF continues to expand the tournament’s commercial and broadcast footprint beyond the African continent.