Morocco's 2025 AFCON generated $1.8bn economic impact, says Motsepe

CAF president Patrice Motsepe says Morocco’s hosting of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations generated an estimated $1.8bn (£1.3bn) in economic impact for the country.

Motsepe made the claim in Tanzania during a CAF delegation visit to assess preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be jointly hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

Morocco staged the 2025 AFCON across December 2025 and January 2026.

Motsepe said an assessment by global research and data company Nielsen found that the tournament had delivered significant economic benefits to Morocco.

“There’s a company, a marketing company called Nielsen. When they did an assessment of the impact on the Moroccan economy of the AFCON 2025, 2026, their assessment was that the economy of Morocco benefited to the value of 1.8 billion dollars,” Motsepe said.

He added: “1.8 billion dollars from the AFCON that took place in Morocco in December last year and in January this year.”

Motsepe cited Morocco’s experience as an example of the wider economic and developmental opportunities that can come with hosting Africa’s biggest football tournament.

He said AFCON should not be viewed solely as a sporting event, but also as a catalyst for investment in infrastructure that can benefit host communities long after the competition has ended.

“The AFCON is about a celebration of the enormous talent that we have on the continent and to show the rest of the continent the exceptional talent in Tanzania, in Kenya, in Uganda and on the African continent,” he said.

“But it’s also about building football infrastructure, making sure that our stadiums are world-class and the stadiums will be here to serve our people many years after the AFCON.

“The football pitches, the hotels, the hospitals, the transport.”

Motsepe also highlighted the potential of the tournament to promote tourism, create jobs, attract investment and strengthen regional integration.

“The AFCON is also about uniting our people, uniting East Africa and making sure that we show the best of African football but also the best of unity, economic development, growth, job creation, investment through football,” he said.

CAF is currently assessing preparations across the three 2027 host nations, with experts examining stadiums, training facilities, pitches, accommodation, transport and other tournament infrastructure.

The 2027 AFCON will be the first edition of the tournament to be jointly hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.