EU paid the Confederation of African Football to promote itself at the Africa Cup of Nations

Brussels – The European Union has paid the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s governing body for football competitions, to promote political cooperation campaigns during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. A communication policy that cost 5.5 million euros, sparking outrage among the far right in the European Parliament. “How does the Commission justify a financial partnership with an entity whose leadership is regularly implicated in corruption scandals?” asks MEP Jean-Paul Garraud (RN/PfE) in his parliamentary question to seek clarification. The answer lies in the opportunities. 

“The Africa Cup of Nations is watched
by nearly two billion viewers worldwide, making it an impactful visibility opportunity,” the Commissioner for Development, Josef Sikela, explains, not denying the use of EU funds to pay for advertising space during the competition for African nations, and indeed claiming credit for it. “The Commission takes its duty to communicate about EU policies and programmes seriously. It therefore agreed a partnership with the Confederation of African Football as a means to
appeal to a young adult audience that is hard to reach,” he added. 

Specifically, the aim was to promote the Global Gateway, the 300 billion euro worldwide investment strategy, including in Africa, which the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wants to expand to a budget of 400 billion. In this regard, Sikela insists that the Africa Cup represents an opportunity and that CAF is the ideal partner for such agreements. “With
increasing reach on digital platforms, the tournaments are a key platform to communicate
about the EU’s investments in Africa and support for young people across the continent,
including through the Global Gateway strategy.” 

As for the use of the funds, they will be neither wasted nor misused, the Commissioner for Development assures n behalf of the entire European Commission. The contract “followed the standard checks and safeguards for these kinds of agreements, in line
with the EU Financial Regulation.“ Furthermore, he adds, “As with all conditions for contracts for external actions financed by the EU, the agreement has
robust verifications, checks, audits and reporting requirements.”