The Scores Report #4 - The African sports deals that made 2025 (Part 2.)

The Kick Off: Welcome to The Scores Report brought to you by Africa Scores and distributed by AFROBALLERS. We are excited to share this revamped version of our newsletter with you. 

Here’s the game plan for today: 

• The 3-Pointer: Latest news in deals and announcements from the industry as we wrap up the year.

• The Midfield : Sindiswa Mabunda brings you the second part of the Dealbook 2025, the most important deals that took place in the industry this year.

THE 3-POINTER

1. With the GEPETROL x MP Motorsport deal

AfroBallers played a catalytic role in supporting the partnership between GEPETROL, Equatorial Guinea’s state-owned national oil company, and MP Motorsport, a leading Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The deal places GEPETROL’s branding on the car of Oliver Goethe, a rising talent and member of the prestigious Red Bull Junior Team, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Beyond the logo placement, this move signals a broader shift: African state-backed enterprises are beginning to leverage elite global sports platforms to reshape national narratives, expand youth engagement, and elevate the continent’s presence in high-growth sports ecosystems. With momentum building, motorsport may well become the next frontier for African brand ambition.

2. CAF and Channel 4 Agree Historic UK Broadcast Deal + CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 Diaspora Tour Recap

CAF and Channel 4 have signed a landmark media rights agreement that will make the broadcaster the official home of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 in the United Kingdom. For the first time, AFCON will be available free-to-air across the UK, a major milestone in expanding the tournament’s visibility and accessibility. The agreement was facilitated in collaboration with IMG, CAF’s international media rights and sponsorship agency.

Alongside the announcement, CAF recently concluded its AFCON 2025 Diaspora Tour, a vibrant two-city engagement initiative designed to bring the tournament closer to African communities abroad. The tour gave diaspora fans a real-time, on-the-ground touchpoint with AFCON, featuring appearances by football legends and the chance to see the original AFCON Trophy up close. The Tour activated in London at Piccadilly Circus before moving to Paris, where it wrapped with strong fan turnout and renewed excitement ahead of AFCON 2025 in Morocco.

3. NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator results

The NBA Africa Triple Double Accelerator, launched last year to strengthen the continent’s technology ecosystem and support emerging African entrepreneurs, held its second Demo Day on Friday, 5 December. The event was hosted in partnership with ALX Africa, Carnegie Mellon University Africa, ServiceNow, and OpenAI.

Five companies emerged as winners: Reborn (Morocco), Fitclan (Egypt), Athlon Technology (Egypt), Atsur (Nigeria), and Songdis (Nigeria). Each received financial support and entry into CMU-Africa’s 12-month Business Incubation Program through its Innovation Hub, designed to transform prototypes and early market assessments into scalable, market-ready solutions, an opportunity valued at up to $70,000. The top three startups were additionally awarded $10,000 in API credits each and will participate in an immersion day with OpenAI’s engineering team at the company’s headquarters.

The Midfield with Sindiswa

Money Is Moving in African Sports, Here Are the Deals That Shaped 2025 (Part. 2)

Hi, I'm Sindiswa! I'm excited to take over our newsletter’s center piece where I’ll dive into a recent news in African sports with a business angle. Want to pitch me a story ? Write to us at [email protected] 

In our last newsletter, we brought you Part One of The Deal Book. Today, we’re back with Part Two, an even closer look at how 2025 is reshaping the African sports economy. Across the continent, the year’s most strategic deals send a clear signal: sports rights are being valued more seriously, women’s sports have stepped firmly into commercial viability, and institutional players are moving decisively into the ecosystem.

Women’s Football: From “Supported” to “Investable”

The commercialisation of women’s sports took a significant step forward this year, occurring in ways that few expected. In Sierra Leone, Marampa Mines Limited pledged US $150,000 to the Sierra Leone Football Association for the 2025/26 Women’s Premier League, marking the largest corporate sponsorship in the history of women’s football in the country. This deal is particularly noteworthy because the extractive industry is not a traditional sport sponsor, indicating that women’s football is no longer viewed merely as corporate social responsibility but as a viable business platform.

At the regional level, this trend is even more pronounced. In Uganda, Finance Trust Bank committed UGX 2.0 billion (approximately US $520,000) to title-sponsor both the Finance Trust Women’s Super League and the Elite League, while also supporting the Uganda Football Federation’s broader women’s football programs. The scale and multi-tier structure of this deal signal a significant shift in mindset: banks are now investing in women’s football because it fosters audience engagement, affinity, and loyalty.

2025 marks the first year in which the commercial rationale for investing in women’s sports has become stronger than the rationale based on charitable support.

Institutional Capital Enters African Sports Infrastructure

Perhaps the most critical development, one that will shape the next decade, is the entrance of institutional finance into African sports infrastructure. Afreximbank has approved a US$36.4 million contract financing facility to support Egypt’s SAMCO National Construction Company in developing the Akii Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira, Uganda. This project represents more than just a stadium; it serves as a financing blueprint, indicating long-term economic potential through multipurpose event hosting, tourism integration, sustainable revenue generation, and less reliance on government funding. If this model succeeds, it could redefine how African sports infrastructure is built and financed, moving towards capital-market viability instead of depending on governmental support.

Platform Investment: Helios Sports & Entertainment Group,  Capitalising the African Sports Economy at Scale

One of the most consequential developments in African sport this year did not centre on a single stadium, league, or club  but on the commercial infrastructure that binds the sector together. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco have announced an equity investment of up to US $50 million in Helios Sports & Entertainment Group (HSEG), a purpose-built investment platform for sport, media and entertainment across Africa. What distinguishes the HSEG transaction from traditional sponsorship or rights agreements is its intent. Rather than backing one organisation, event or market, the financing is structured to accelerate the development of a commercially viable creative ecosystem across the continent, treating sport as an investable industry, not a cultural afterthought. The capital is earmarked for the full value chain of fan-driven sport and entertainment from content ownership and the physical and digital environments that monetise it, from venues and broadcast-ready events to merchandising channels and premium fan experiences. The deal also reflects a decisive shift in how financiers are evaluating Africa’s creative sectors. Instead of one-off sponsorship payouts, the value proposition is now anchored in rights, recurring revenues, and scalable commercial assets.

AFCON is almost here, are you ready to network ?

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A Final Note

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Until Monday after next,