As the jostling to win the presidency of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has taken a new turn with the suspension of CAF chief Ahmad Ahmad, one thing should be uppermost on the remaining candidates mind: securing a lucrative media and marketing rights deal for CAF games. It is not certain what will happen should he decide to appeal the FIFA decision. But in the field now are South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and the Mauritanian shipping magnate Ahmed Yahya. The third candidate is the Ivorian Jacques Anouma, a former member FIFA’s executive committee. Either contender could probably secure a good deal, though there’s much speculation about who is most capable or likely to win the election slated for March 2021 in Morocco. Many are in favour of Motsepe, who also owns the popular South African club, Mamelodi Sundowns. But Yahya, who heads Mauritania’s Football Federation and boasts some leadership accolades, is also a favourite. Their demonstrable business acumen is a plus. And both being relatively younger than Anouma, they hold the promise of infusing new blood to CAF leadership. Despite his experience and having also vied for the presidency in 2012 though unsuccessfully, Anouma is considered part of the old guard that held sway during the long years of Issa Hayatou’s reign. Hayatou lost to the now-suspended Ahmad Ahmad in 2017. CAF presidency is much coveted and carries immense powers, which include representing the continent at the highest committees for global football decision making at FIFA. The president serves on the FIFA Council and is an Executive Vice President of FIFA. He sets the direction for football on the continent. The candidate who will take it in March will face several major tasks, among them to restore confidence in the organisation. Perhaps the most important task will be to sign a respectable media and marketing rights agreement for its continental competitions. Signing a primary sponsor for CAF’s premier competitions is imperative. Why this is crucial can perhaps best be appreciated in the deep disappointment the cancelling of the last sponsorship deal wrought. I read a story in The Conversation how, as the first round of the qualifying games for CAF’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations got underway in November last year, millions of fans were dismayed to learn that the games were blacked out on TV screens and radio stations. The same applied to CAF’s Africa U-23 tournament in Egypt. The reason was CAF had cancelled its media and marketing rights agreement with the French company, Lagardère Sports and Entertainment. The impact was felt across the world but nowhere more so than in Africa. To give an idea, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon was reportedly watched by 6.6 billion viewers. The cup is so popular that the BBC covered 2019 final in 13 languages. The media blackout may be a long time. One of the reasons is that the contract between Lagardère and CAF was not competitively sourced, resulting in a court ruling that it was illegal. Another criticism is that the contract was of 12 years up to 2028. Though the rights were reportedly going for about $1 billion and would have added commercial value to the game, the contract was deemed as too long a commitment to undertake. The argument went that 12 years is long for contracts of this nature, which usually run for three years. Long-term contracts can limit revenue growth. Invariably opportunities emerge in the light of new technologies to grow several revenue-earning platforms. African football, particularly, is growing and increasingly there is global media interest. It is possible, said critics, that CAF could have leveraged more money out of Lagardère had several other companies bid for the contract. The deal, therefore, had to be cancelled. The result was that primary African broadcasters of CAF matches such as SuperSport lost their rights to broadcast the matches as they had bought these from Lagardère. Urgently securing a new sponsorship deal cannot be gainsaid.
