Patrice Motsepe says CAF paid nearly R880m in marketing rights settlement
The French company Lagardere Sports sued for compensation after their 10-year, $1bn agreement was cancelled in 2019
22 October 2024 - 19:45
byMARK GLEESON
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African football paid $50m (R878.9m) in a settlement out of court to former marketing company Lagardere Sports after abruptly cancelling their long-term agreement, the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) congress was told on Tuesday.
The French company had sued for compensation after their 10-year, $1bn agreement was abruptly cancelled in 2019.
Lagardere Sports held the marketing, sponsorship and TV rights to all CAF competitions for two decades but CAF said it had to cancel the deal after two court rulings found the agreement was made without proper tender.
The company, now known as Lagardere Unlimited, sued for compensation before accepting a settlement, with CAF paying in two equal tranches, the last of which was paid at the end of 2023, CAF’s finance committee vice-chair, Andrew Kamanga, said.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe told the congress the organisation had made a $72m profit from this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast, significantly increased from a $4m profit for the 2021 finals in Cameroon.
CAF said it projected revenue of almost $150m for the 2024/25 financial year, with expenses of $138.2m.
About 30% of the budget would be spent on development programmes and contributions to CAF’s 54-member associations.
A proposal was approved to give each association president an annual salary of $50,000 from the $400,000 annual contribution.
Motsepe, expected to stand for re-election in 2025, said CAF wanted to increase African football’s revenue to $1bn over the next eight years.
“We are having a lot of discussions with potential sponsors,” he told the congress in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
He said CAF wanted to give $1m annually to each member association from 2026.
Motsepe also said CAF was reviewing rules on the treatment of visiting teams in the wake of Nigeria’s national team being held at a Libyan airport for a half day before last week’s scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Nigeria refused to play the game, saying they had been held hostage by Libyan authorities who diverted their charter plane to an unused airfield and then left them waiting.
“National teams must be treated with respect. If there are violations, we’ll take action,” Motsepe said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Patrice Motsepe says CAF paid nearly R880m in marketing rights settlement
The French company Lagardere Sports sued for compensation after their 10-year, $1bn agreement was cancelled in 2019
African football paid $50m (R878.9m) in a settlement out of court to former marketing company Lagardere Sports after abruptly cancelling their long-term agreement, the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) congress was told on Tuesday.
The French company had sued for compensation after their 10-year, $1bn agreement was abruptly cancelled in 2019.
Lagardere Sports held the marketing, sponsorship and TV rights to all CAF competitions for two decades but CAF said it had to cancel the deal after two court rulings found the agreement was made without proper tender.
The company, now known as Lagardere Unlimited, sued for compensation before accepting a settlement, with CAF paying in two equal tranches, the last of which was paid at the end of 2023, CAF’s finance committee vice-chair, Andrew Kamanga, said.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe told the congress the organisation had made a $72m profit from this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast, significantly increased from a $4m profit for the 2021 finals in Cameroon.
CAF said it projected revenue of almost $150m for the 2024/25 financial year, with expenses of $138.2m.
About 30% of the budget would be spent on development programmes and contributions to CAF’s 54-member associations.
A proposal was approved to give each association president an annual salary of $50,000 from the $400,000 annual contribution.
Motsepe, expected to stand for re-election in 2025, said CAF wanted to increase African football’s revenue to $1bn over the next eight years.
“We are having a lot of discussions with potential sponsors,” he told the congress in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
He said CAF wanted to give $1m annually to each member association from 2026.
Motsepe also said CAF was reviewing rules on the treatment of visiting teams in the wake of Nigeria’s national team being held at a Libyan airport for a half day before last week’s scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Nigeria refused to play the game, saying they had been held hostage by Libyan authorities who diverted their charter plane to an unused airfield and then left them waiting.
“National teams must be treated with respect. If there are violations, we’ll take action,” Motsepe said.
Reuters
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