Africa holds $80bn football investment opportunity – new industry report

• African football no longer a developing market story—it’s an investment-grade opportunity – Domínguez, WFS content director

Ben Eguzozie

African football holds staggering commercial investment opportunities worth $80 billion, according to a comprehensive report released by World Football Summit (WFS), the premier global event for the football industry.

The report, developed in collaboration with #AfricaScores intelligence platform, on the state and future of African football, affirmed that African football is no longer a developing market story—it’s an investment-grade opportunity, according to Domínguez, content director at WFS.

The comprehensive analysis identified five critical areas where smart businesses can engage with Africa’s rapidly evolving football ecosystem. These include digital leapfrog: Africa’s 650+ million smartphone users by 2025 represent the world’s fastest-growing mobile-first football audience; infrastructure surge: the continent requires approximately $80 billion in football infrastructure development by 2030; women’s football untapped potential: despite dominating AFCON (68 total titles), commercial development remains nascent; next-gen talent pipelines: Ghana, Senegal, and Ivory Coast academies offer ROI through guaranteed talent development and brand alignment; and regional maturation: North and West Africa lead commercial development, with fast-rising markets in Mauritania, Mali, and Sudan.

The World Football Summit’s all-inclusive analysis also uncovered strategic imperatives for stakeholders as Africa prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.

Tlhopie Motsepe, chairman of Mamelodi Sundowns FC, said during WFS Rabat 2025 that, “African football stands at a critical juncture. The Sky’s the Limit is our motto. It’s a call to inspire Africans to dream big, rise above limitations, and never let their environment define their potential”.

Morocco’s leadership position

The report highlights Morocco’s strategic approach as a continental model, featuring nine stadiums that are currently upgraded with smart technologies, comprehensive talent development framework combining education and sport, investment positioning as Africa’s technology and innovation hub, and World Cup 2030 preparation alongside AFCON 2025 hosting.

Wither Nigeria with demographic, talents advantages

As the WFS left out Nigeria in the analysis, football industry watchers are asking critical questions on what has happened to the country—a football powerhouse—with strategic demographic advantages and stupendous talents strewn around the world. Some experts advise that Nigerian football administrators should quickly learn from Morocco’s current deployment of smart technologies to football infrastructure, as well as positioning as the continent’s technology and innovation hub.

Nigeria has no record of ever bidding to host the FIFA World Cup. Unlike Morocco, which has bid six times—1994 FIFA World Cup, first bid, which it lost out to the United States; 1998 lost to France; 2006 lost to Germany; 2010 lost to South Africa; 2026 lost to the joint bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The 2030, Morocco’s sixth bid was successful in a joint bid with Portugal and Spain.

Strategic opportunities

In addition, strategic opportunities exist in management professionalisation such as consulting opportunities in financial planning, organisational development, and strategic management. Others are technology integration with mobile-first platforms for fan engagement, affordable analytics, and cloud-based solutions, infrastructure development: public-private partnerships for stadium development and facility management, talent development: academy partnerships and educational integration programmes, and commercial evolution: from transactional sponsorship to purpose-driven partnerships.

The WFS report emphasised that success requires understanding local contexts while applying global best practices.Jaime Domínguez, content director at World Football Summit said through the WFS’s unique position connecting global football stakeholders, they have captured what forward-thinking businesses have already discovered, which is that, African football is no longer a developing market story—it’s an investment-grade opportunity.

Domínguez said their WFS report provides essential, actionable strategies for entering and succeeding in Africa’s football ecosystem. “The question for global stakeholders isn’t ‘if’ to engage, but ‘where’ to start their strategic entry—and the answers are right here,” he explained further.