AFCON 2025 kicks off on December 21: football, history… and millions at stake

The Africa Cup of Nations is back, launching on December 21, and you’ll be able to watch every match exclusively on beIN SPORTS. Beyond bringing together the best national teams on the continent, the tournament also features one of the most significant financial structures in African football history.

Since Patrice Motsepe took over as CAF president, the economic boost has been evident. AFCON, already powerful on the sporting side, now enters a financial dimension that places it among the world’s premier competitions. And the numbers speak louder than anything else.

The African champion: historic figures for the best team on the continent

The winner of AFCON 2025 will receive 7 million USD, a significant increase compared to previous editions. But that’s only the beginning: if a team goes all the way, it can reach a maximum total of 11.6 million USD, adding bonuses from each stage of the tournament.

Here’s the full breakdown:

• Champion: 7 million USD
• Runner-up: 4 million
• Semifinalists: 2.5 million each
• Quarterfinalists: 1.3 million each
• Round of 16: 800,000 USD
• Best third-placed teams: 700,000 USD
• Fourth place in each group: 500,000 USD

In total, CAF will distribute 32 million USD during AFCON 2025—an economic boost that will significantly benefit both established national teams and emerging football projects.

How does AFCON compare with other global tournaments? A quick look

While AFCON surpasses several continental competitions in sporting quality, financially it sits in a middle tier.
It comfortably outperforms the Gold Cup, the Asian Cup, and the Oceania Nations Cup, all of which offer much smaller prize pools. The Gold Cup champion, for example, receives just 1 million USD.

However, AFCON remains below the two global economic giants:

• Copa América 2024, which awarded 16 million USD to the champion.
• The Euro, the richest continental tournament in the world, with a total purse of 331 million euros, and up to 28.25 million euros available for the winning team.

The Arab Cup, now backed by FIFA, also slightly surpassed AFCON with a 31-million-euro prize pool.

Even so, AFCON remains the competition that distributes the most money within the African continent—a key financial platform for the development of national teams and federations.

A tournament played on the pitch… and in the financial arena

AFCON 2025 promises not only world-class football, but also an unprecedented economic boost for the nations involved. Morocco will host a new battle—not just for glory and history, but for a prize capable of transforming any federation.

And you can watch every match, every upset and every celebration, starting December 21, exclusively on beIN SPORTS.