AFC highlights rebranding and record engagement as it prepares tender for new rights cycle

August 21 – The Asian Football Confederation is putting the finishing touches to the Invitation to Tender process for the sale of the marketing and commercial rights of the AFC’s competitions for the 2029-2036 cycle, which will begin later this year.

The AFC’s Marketing Committee was given a “brief overview” of the document at a meeting earlier this week where it also reviewed the impact of the extensive rebranding of the AFC’s club competition and corporate ID, as well as the impact of the new club competition formats – the growing success of which will impact on the new rights cycle.

The committee noted an 83% increase in the total number of sponsors from the 2023/24 to the 2024/25 club season, alongside a dramatic increase in the number of partnership activations – AFC Champions League Elite Finals Jeddah 2025 saw a record 62 activations.
The final achieved a cumulative audience of 258 million, marking a 48% increase from the previous season with the cumulative reach increasing to 910.9 million.

National team World Cup qualification has also seen significant increases with AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26, broadcast across 132 territories and countries. The AFC said preliminary data presented indicated a growth of 155% in cumulative audience to 763.5 million across the 10 matchdays, whilst the cumulative reach rose by 222% to 3.3 billion from the 1.05 billion registered in the previous campaign.

With the rights tender about to launch for the seven-year cycle beginning in 2029, the AFC will have significantly increased expectations on the reported $4 billion that was agreed for the 2021 to 2028 cycle.

Deputy marketing committee chairperson Abdullah Nasser Aljneibi, who led the meeting, said: “If we take a moment to pause and reflect on our journey, it is clear that the AFC has entered a historic era inspired by levels of engagement and rising standards never before seen in Asian football history.
“The recent success is only the beginning, and we are anchored on ensuring the AFC remains in the best possible position to strengthen the foundations of the game in the coming years for all its members.”

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