CAF Partners With Midea For 2025 AFCON

Midea will become an Official Sponsor of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) – marking the Chinese white goods giant’s first formal partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

CAF described the agreement as a “significant milestone” in Midea’s global sports ambitions, with the brand now firmly planting its flag in Africa’s premier football showcase.

The move follows an increasingly familiar playbook: Chinese consumer brands leveraging football’s reach across emerging markets to build visibility, loyalty and sales.

Midea already holds partnerships with Manchester City, Sevilla, Conmebol, and the Asian Football Confederation, the latter of which it expanded last month to include AFC national team competitions alongside its club tournament deals.

Now, with CAF added to the portfolio, Midea’s geographic footprint in world football covers just about every time zone.

The company joins a growing cast of Chinese sponsors eyeing Africa’s football boom. Smartphone manufacturer Tecno, a dominant brand across the continent, recently upgraded its relationship with CAF to become a Global Partner of AFCON 2025 and 2027. Meanwhile, Apsonic, a motorcycle firm with a strong market share in West Africa, was part of the 2023 AFCON sponsor roster.

CAF continues to court global brands as it prepares for the 2025 edition of AFCON, due to be held later this year. In April, Royal Air Maroc – Morocco’s national carrier – also signed on as a sponsor, bolstering a growing international lineup.

The federation’s commercial activity is being driven in part by IMG, appointed last October to handle sponsorship sales through to 2025.

But CAF is already laying the groundwork for its next commercial cycle. In March, it launched a high-stakes invitation to tender (ITT) for rights from 2026 to 2029, covering both sponsorship and media. The federation has gone a step further this time, signalling its intent to build a 100% CAF-owned commercial entity to centralise and manage its commercial rights.

That ambition underlines a broader strategic shift for African football’s governing body: to capitalise on its growing global appeal while asserting greater control over the revenue it generates.

If Midea’s move is any indicator, more international brands are ready to bet on the continent’s football future – appliances and all.

Insideworldfootball.com