Last week in New York, our friends at the World Football Summit hosted a special event with FC Mother - the world’s first-ever Healing-Sports company. The organization operates solutions to improve maternal health and harnesses the power of football to promote these solutions. Read more here.

THE 3-POINTER

FIFA Club World Cup: African Clubs’ Prize Money Opportunity

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup concluded as a major milestone for global football. The event not only captivated audiences in the United States, reflecting a surge in enthusiasm for international club competitions, but also ushered in significant financial rewards for participating teams. According to Football Benchmark, African clubs amassed a total of $45.4 million in prize money, positioning them to make transformative investments. Here is an analysis of how these clubs should deploy these funds.

Talent Development: The Foundation for Competitive Success

Wydad A.C.'s General Manager, Youssef Debbagh, underscored the importance of youth development as the pathway to bridging the competitive and financial divide between African clubs and their global peers. Drawing lessons from Brazilian teams—whose rosters are bolstered by well-developed homegrown talent—he advocated for a sustained focus on nurturing young players. Strategic investment in youth academies is expected to deliver significant long-term returns. For instance, dedicating some of the prize money to academy facilities and coaching staff can yield to developing professional players that can yield significant revenues for the club on the transfer market.

Infrastructure Development: Beyond Stadiums to World-Class Training Facilities

While stadium upgrades remain a popular topic in Africa, developing world-class training facilities is just as crucial for improving performance and sustaining long-term success. This is underscored by trends in America's "big four" sports leagues, where clubs are investing heavily in advanced training infrastructures to enhance player development, attract elite talent, and support a winning club culture. African clubs like Al Ahly are already setting the standard with projects such as their Sports City in West Cairo, aligning themselves with global best practices..

Content Development: Expanding the African Football Narrative

The future of African club football will be shaped not just by what happens on the pitch, but by how clubs tell their stories and connect with supporters off it. As fan engagement increasingly shifts to digital platforms, clubs have the opportunity to dramatically enhance their commercial and community impact through robust content strategies. By investing in professional digital marketing, African clubs could raise fan engagement metrics. In turn, this heightened engagement would translate into greater commercial value through sponsorship and merchandising revenues.

Sindiswa’s Corner Kick

THE COPPER QUEENS’ ASCENT

Hi, I'm Sindiswa! I'm excited to carve out this little corner of the newsletter to share what I've been learning, who I've been speaking to, and everything happening in the vibrant world of African sports.

When Zambia’s Copper Queens began making waves on the global stage by qualifying for the Olympics and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, many were unaware that their success was not an overnight phenomenon. Instead, it resulted from years of dedicated groundwork, visionary leadership, and a passionate grassroots movement. Beauty Mwamba, a former player who became a coach and is now a CAF instructor, has observed every step of this remarkable journey… (Read the full story)

A Final Note

SCORE WITH US

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Until Friday after next,