DAZN Acquires AFCON and CAF Champions League Rights in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Image by Guylain Kipoke

DAZN has acquired the rights to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026-27 CAF Champions League in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, ending Sportdigital's run as AFCON rights holder in the region since 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed. The partnership comes as CAF relies more heavily on media income to fund rising prize money and prepares to sell its next eight-year commercial cycle.

DAZN knows the AFCON tournament

DAZN held the 2019 edition and carried AFCON during Sportdigital's tenure through a carriage agreement. It now holds the rights directly. The loss follows a pattern Sportdigital’s executives described earlier this year, rights become more valuable as a property grows, eventually putting them within reach of larger buyers. AFCON was one of its flagship properties.

The calendar also works in DAZN's favour, the 2027 tournament runs from June 19 to July 17 across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, putting AFCON in Europe's club off-season rather than the January window where it competed with European club fixtures. With fewer major international football properties competing for attention during that period, the tournament gives DAZN a significant football asset across the summer. The German audience has a stake too. Seventeen Germany-based players featured at the last edition of AFCON, giving DAZN an existing connection between AFCON and one of Europe's largest football markets.

After 2027, AFCON moves to a four-year cycle. CAF opened a tender in July for an agency to sell global broadcast, media and sponsorship rights for the 2028, 2032 and 2036 editions. A competitive result in one of Europe's largest pay-TV markets gives CAF another reference point as it prepares for that commercial cycle.

CAF’s Commercial Strategy

As BOSA reported, CAF increased the AFCON winner's prize by 43% to $10 million for the 2025 edition, a payout later complicated when CAF's Appeal Board stripped Senegal of the title and awarded the trophy to Morocco. The CAF Champions League winner's prize also rose to $6 million for 2025-26, collected by Mamelodi Sundowns.

CAF has credited improved television and sponsorship deals as major contributors to its return to profitability. The strategy: larger prize pools and a broader commercial operation require rights and sponsorship income capable of supporting them. Europe is one of the clearest markets for additional rights value. Diaspora audiences, African players at Bundesliga clubs and the established interest in African football give AFCON a natural audience in Germany, while the Champions League provides DAZN with a season-long club property rather than a four-week national-team tournament.

The Champions League could ultimately be the more durable part of the package. Sundowns' title ended a run of North African dominance, while the competition provides DAZN with regular fixtures and a May final - than a concentrated tournament window. CAF’s, the immediate value of the DAZN deal is another data point for what African football rights can command in a mature European media market before the federation takes its next global commercial cycle to market.