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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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Speaker 2: The thirty fifth Africa Cup of Nations has reached the

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Speaker 2: final stages in Morocco and organizers hope the world is watching.

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Speaker 3: Henin and we are very happy and proud for Morocco

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Speaker 3: to host the sports event and we hope it will

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Speaker 3: have positive impact on economic, tourism and community sectors as

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Speaker 3: well as promote Morocco's image internationally.

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Speaker 1: Mare Alan Musta Dooley.

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Speaker 2: With a record number of fans watching the group stages,

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Speaker 2: what does this year's tournament tell us about the business

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Speaker 2: opportunities for sport in Africa?

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Speaker 4: Economy of quote VA benefits to the value of one

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Speaker 4: point five billion because of the soccer competition. Of football

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Speaker 4: competition we had and but they may have another big competition.

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Speaker 2: On today's episode of The Next Africa Podcast, we'll take

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Speaker 2: a look at Afcon twenty twenty five and whether new

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Speaker 2: media deals are a sign of a growing business interest

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Speaker 2: in sports across Africa. I'm Jennifer's Abasadia and this is

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Speaker 2: the Next Africa Podcast, bringing you one story each week

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Speaker 2: from the continent driving the future of global growth with

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Speaker 2: the context only Bloomberg can provide. Our Nigeria based reporter

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Speaker 2: Nduka or Jinmo is joining us this week and likely

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Speaker 2: celebrating that win by Nigeria earlier in the week. Four

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Speaker 2: nil Andduka, congrats. How's the mood over.

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Speaker 5: There, very very buoyant. I'll see we're quite pleased with

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Speaker 5: that results. I think we can go all the way.

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Speaker 5: You also correct that mystic from the last edition when

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Speaker 5: we lost in the fine out suits the aver course

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Speaker 5: and also the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup.

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Speaker 5: I think post nineans think like win the a Con

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Speaker 5: this time it would be an adequate compensation supply.

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Speaker 1: So yes, optimistic.

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Speaker 2: Let's just talk about this tournament because it's been highly anticipated,

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Speaker 2: but it did come during the festive season. I wonder

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Speaker 2: from where you said, how important you see this tournament

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Speaker 2: being to African football fans and more broadly just just

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Speaker 2: football fans in general.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: Look, the Afconnations is the top football competition the continents

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Speaker 5: for national teams, and since the expanded version in twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 5: you've had much smaller countries been able to participate, so

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Speaker 5: like the Comoros, the Gambia, Mauritania, and think of the

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Speaker 5: joy that brings to millions of people in those in

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Speaker 5: those countries, and an African country has still not worn

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Speaker 5: the Football World Cup and it might be some time

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Speaker 5: before that happens. So the AFCN is the closest thing

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Speaker 5: to that's the level of winning a big championship that

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Speaker 5: you can then take back to your home country.

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Speaker 1: So it's a big, big deal for those the.

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Speaker 5: Top countries of the continents. I can also think of

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Speaker 5: the smaller countries. Not even just participating can be a

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Speaker 5: big deal for countries like Sudan and then the battle

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Speaker 5: war going on country like Mozambique and they've been able

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Speaker 5: to send teams down to the Conte despite having those

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Speaker 5: internal challenges and just.

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Speaker 1: Think of you know what it means to people in

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Speaker 1: those countries.

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Speaker 5: So I think it's one of those events on the

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Speaker 5: continent that really brings everyone.

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Speaker 2: Together, and it's important, especially when you think about some

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Speaker 2: of the other factors that are dividing a lot of

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Speaker 2: the region and the country. If we look at the

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Speaker 2: turnout though in Morocco it's already claiming records. You're seeing

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Speaker 2: especially in the earlier group stages. Do you think this

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Speaker 2: can be considered a success by calv.

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Speaker 1: I think so. I think so.

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Speaker 5: I think the confusion has been on the rise for

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Speaker 5: years now and what we've had in more for this year,

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Speaker 5: I think it's one of the better ones we've seen

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Speaker 5: recently and was quite skeptical when it was going to

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Speaker 5: be held, you know, in the middle of the Christmas

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Speaker 5: this season. Fans turned up, but being seven of the

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Speaker 5: thousand fans plus watched the growth stage games according to

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Speaker 5: Calfe organizers, and it's.

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Speaker 1: Almost had this in the holiday field to it.

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Speaker 5: Also, you've seen some of the France based players, so

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Speaker 5: the French great for instance in the incident was he's

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Speaker 5: there now in Moreco watching some play for the Augerian team.

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Speaker 5: You've seen it for Bosters from Barcelona, from from PSG

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Speaker 5: traveled down to.

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Speaker 1: Watch some of those games. I mean, they are those

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Speaker 1: who have said these years have conlaxed set in vibe.

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Speaker 5: You know, it's not as vibrands, it's not as colorful

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Speaker 5: as previous editions we've saying. But I think all in

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Speaker 5: all it's been it's been a huge success so far.

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Speaker 5: The stadiums are pactful, and not just when the host

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Speaker 5: country Morocca are playing both since some other you know

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Speaker 5: games that have drawn huge crowds also, so I think

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Speaker 5: so it has been a huge success.

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Speaker 2: And like you know, to your point, we've seen some

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Speaker 2: of those players that play in Europe and elsewhere that

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Speaker 2: have traveled to it. Do you think though the timing

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Speaker 2: of this, which you made a point, there was some

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Speaker 2: criticism about the timing of this being smack in the

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Speaker 2: middle of football season, do you think that has complicated

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Speaker 2: this this tournament in any way.

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Speaker 5: Not so much, because all the big stars are there,

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Speaker 5: the only Morocco moments, the Victor Semen, Mosala Demla Lupman,

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Speaker 5: they're all the sady money for sending out they've all

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Speaker 5: made it done because I mean, unfortunately.

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Speaker 1: It's been stayed in the middle of the football season.

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Speaker 5: You hear the grumblings from the European clubs, but it's

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Speaker 5: mandatory now to release the players.

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Speaker 1: For this national assignments.

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Speaker 5: It takes a toll on them when they then go

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Speaker 5: back to their clubs, the logistics of traveling and all

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Speaker 5: the changing and when and all that.

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Speaker 1: But the big stars have had really fund of this time.

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Speaker 5: But I think calf has made it quite clear that

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Speaker 5: you know, clubs cannot refuse to send.

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Speaker 1: Their players down to represent their country.

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Speaker 5: So we've gone past that stea now it'll be a

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Speaker 5: thing ten fifteen years ago, but now it's no longer

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Speaker 5: an issue.

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Speaker 2: Are there other changes you think CALF might start to

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Speaker 2: institute in the future, maybe to appeal to some of

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Speaker 2: the other leagues.

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Speaker 5: Well, the biggest change since the inception of the competition

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Speaker 5: in nineteen fifty seven was announced just before this edition

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Speaker 5: started by CALF. CALF is now moving to a four

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Speaker 5: year competition, which has always been you know, it's taken

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Speaker 5: points between the federations and the continents and the topic

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Speaker 5: clubs and even the FIFA. CALF now wants to start

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Speaker 5: from twenty to thirty so to hold that competition be

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Speaker 5: four years.

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Speaker 1: And what that means is that it aligns with the other.

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Speaker 5: Top football competitions across the world, so like Copper America

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Speaker 5: and South America and even the FIFA also the Europeal Championship.

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Speaker 5: What that does I mean from one side of the

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Speaker 5: argument is that it makes African players much more valuable.

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Speaker 1: For the European clubs looking to employ them.

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Speaker 5: If you know you're not going to lose an African player,

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Speaker 5: you know, every two years in the middle of the season,

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Speaker 5: then probably you're going to be encouraged to sign more

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Speaker 5: of them and also is moving the competition to the

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Speaker 5: end of the BOS season so that's where to be

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Speaker 5: in June, rather playing it during this December generary period

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Speaker 5: that it has always been staged. So we think that's

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Speaker 5: been to be better aligned to the football calendar. But

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Speaker 5: the critics are saying that, look, what it means is

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Speaker 5: that you're holding the competition less frequently and then you're

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Speaker 5: not giving football on the continent. The opportunity of really

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Speaker 5: developing an African country is yet to win the football work.

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Speaker 1: And the case is that, look.

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Speaker 5: If you play its most more frequent, if you play

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Speaker 5: the African Nations Cup more confrequently every two years, then

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Speaker 5: you give national teams the opportunity so you're not to

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Speaker 5: prepare better for the major one, which is the World Cup.

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Speaker 5: And you also give you know this host countries an

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Speaker 5: opportunity to develop infrastructure, build roles, you know, the build stadiums,

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Speaker 5: built hospitals, those kinds of things that you build when

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Speaker 5: you're hosting such Medions Championship, which you know you're not

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Speaker 5: really going to get. I mean that's just me said

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Speaker 5: when you hold it every four years.

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Speaker 1: But all in all.

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Speaker 5: I think it's I think it's a one economic decision

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Speaker 5: of CALF because when you hold it every four years,

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Speaker 5: that means the competition iscarcer and then you can attract

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Speaker 5: a premium on needs. And this sponsorship, the headline sponsor

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Speaker 5: for the AFCON, is going to expire in three years

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Speaker 5: time and me totalent is the opinion, just about one

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Speaker 5: billion dollars now for a three year contract. I think

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Speaker 5: CALF are really eyeing a much bigger song when that expires,

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Speaker 5: and then the competition moves into these new formats.

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Speaker 2: And that sort of speaks to some of the business

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Speaker 2: opportunities and the decisions behind this tournament, which I want

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Speaker 2: to get more into with you and Duka, but let's

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Speaker 2: just take a quick break and we'll be right back

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Speaker 2: to dig more into that. Welcome back today on the podcast,

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Speaker 2: We're looking at Afcon at twenty twenty five. Bloomberg's Nduka

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Speaker 2: or Jinmo is still with me digging through a lot

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Speaker 2: of the different storylines. So Induka, before the break, we

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Speaker 2: were talking about some of the business opportunities at Afcon

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Speaker 2: and for CALF. What was really interesting to me. Prior

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Speaker 2: to the tournament, I was speaking to CALF president Patrise

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Speaker 2: Matzepe who talked about, you know, when he first took

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Speaker 2: over the presidency sort of what it looked like, what

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Speaker 2: the foundation looked like or the federation looked like, and

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Speaker 2: how it's transformed over time and how interest has grown.

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Speaker 2: We were talking about potentially this tournament changing timing over

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Speaker 2: the next few years and potentially what that means for sponsorships.

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Speaker 2: Have you seen sponsors though, taking the tournament and the

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Speaker 2: federation more seriously over time. Is it actually growing and

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Speaker 2: important for some of these companies.

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Speaker 1: Yes, it tas CALF I mean, especially on the Marsepia

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Speaker 1: has been.

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Speaker 5: Able to do, is to create more championships, more competitions

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Speaker 5: that we're not there on the previous Calf administration, so

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Speaker 5: you not have the chance which is like competition for

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Speaker 5: players that are based on the continent. And there is

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Speaker 5: also going to be a competition first emotion aligned to

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Speaker 5: what you have in Europe now the European Nations League

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Speaker 5: appears going to introduce that word also, you know, and

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Speaker 5: that means more football on the continent and more football

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Speaker 5: means more sponsorship opportunities. At the moment, you know, the

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Speaker 5: biggest coons of the CALF competitions is total energies this sponsor,

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Speaker 5: I mean around ten of the football competitions on the continent.

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Speaker 5: But I've also seen lots of the best in companies,

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Speaker 5: especially for the broadcast channels.

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Speaker 1: They're getting lots.

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Speaker 5: Of those besting companies coming in to buy airtime. Course,

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Speaker 5: since the competition moved to that expanded format, you now have.

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Speaker 1: New countries to sell pictures.

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Speaker 5: And then you have an expanded market for CALF to

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Speaker 5: make more money from. Just to say that, you know,

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Speaker 5: the price money for Thissus competition has increased by for

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Speaker 5: the three percent from the last time, you know, So

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Speaker 5: if you win this competition this time around, you're getting

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Speaker 5: at least ten million.

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Speaker 1: Dollars, which is still slightly lower.

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Speaker 5: Compet to you get for winning the Yuros, for instance,

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Speaker 5: you get into eight million dollars, and if you win

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Speaker 5: the Copper America in South America, it gets sixty million dollars.

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Speaker 1: But what we're seeing with CALF is that.

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Speaker 5: It's getting more money because it's able to create more

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Speaker 5: competitions and maybe we have to attract more sponsorship for

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Speaker 5: these competitions.

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Speaker 2: And potentially more media rights exactly then right, I mean,

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Speaker 2: we're seeing leagues globally rethinking what broadcast rights look like,

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Speaker 2: right even Netflix, you know, I thought it was interesting

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Speaker 2: on Christmas, Netflix had the NFL from the US broadcasting

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Speaker 2: live game. So there could be a lot of opportunities

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Speaker 2: for African football in terms of outreach and exposure.

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Speaker 5: I mean, now you've mentioned it, I've seen a few journalists,

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Speaker 5: like a few big journalists and continents who have programs

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Speaker 5: on Netflix also basically talking about this ongoing outcome, providing

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Speaker 5: one in commentary and analysis. And this is like Netflix

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Speaker 5: consored events both going back to CALF and.

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Speaker 1: What is able to do with the media rites.

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Speaker 5: This year's edition, you know, is probably going to surpass

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Speaker 5: CV viewership from the last time, you know, which had

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Speaker 5: billions of viewers at one point three billion people view

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Speaker 5: the last edition. What CALF has done this time is

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Speaker 5: that it's taking the competition to new territories.

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Speaker 1: Is where I wasn't available before.

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Speaker 5: So all thy toomuches this time around are available on

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Speaker 5: free to end the UK can mean the available on

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Speaker 5: Channel four that wasn't available it's available.

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Speaker 1: Now in Spain, in greaz and.

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Speaker 5: Borgaria also of weak as a stand, you know, the

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Speaker 5: opening game between them Morocco and Comoros was viewed in

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Speaker 5: one and eighty territories worldwide, the new markets in Japan,

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Speaker 5: in South Korea, you know, Mexico. So I think half

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Speaker 5: they are moving to making the competition in globally attractive

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Speaker 5: and that's where it was going to mean more money

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Speaker 5: for the competition itself, and then does go to translate

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Speaker 5: to more money for the federations and they can then

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Speaker 5: develop football even for their home countries.

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Speaker 2: Yeah you can. You can only help, right, And it's

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Speaker 2: it's exciting to watch the growth of the sport and

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Speaker 2: to see the excitement of some of these games. And

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Speaker 2: before we let you go, you know what. We know

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Speaker 2: you're a die hard Nigeria fan. But but what are

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Speaker 2: you looking forward to with the end of this tournament.

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Speaker 2: There still are quite a few games in the quarterfinals.

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Speaker 1: Other than expecting Nigeria the win fingers crossed.

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Speaker 2: I wouldn't expect anything else from you.

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Speaker 5: I'm also looking the quality of the football itself and

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Speaker 5: we've not really had the upsets we had previous editions

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Speaker 5: of the outcome where you know, the big stars you know,

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Speaker 5: and the top countries of the homebood buy you know,

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Speaker 5: pretty small innations I've not had that this time around.

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Speaker 1: I hopefully you can get two sets in the Quali finals.

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Speaker 5: But even more important for me, I'm looking at the

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Speaker 5: hosts Rocle and what they're doing with the competition itself.

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Speaker 5: They are co hosting the work Cup in the four

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Speaker 5: years time alongside Portable and Spain, and I think it

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Speaker 5: is almost like address rehearsals for that big one, and

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Speaker 5: they've done well so far. I think the organization has

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Speaker 5: been spub I think also taking it as an opportunity

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Speaker 5: to boost tourism. You know, theo Bok place offices are fantastic,

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Speaker 5: stadiums are excellent, and I think the atmosphere has really

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Speaker 5: been want to be enjoyed by fans who work there.

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Speaker 5: So I hope that continues. And I hope that when

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Speaker 5: we get the work Cup on American Soiler four years time,

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Speaker 5: you know, they would have had enough experience from hosting

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Speaker 5: this so really then go on to have a less

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Speaker 5: successful a midjor championship there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and I was in Marrakesh not too long ago

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Speaker 2: and you could already see the transformation of the city

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Speaker 2: in preparation for the World Cup. So that's definitely a

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Speaker 2: good point. You point out there, uh and Douka always

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Speaker 2: great to speak with. You really appreciate you joining us

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Speaker 2: and a happy New Year. And you can follow our

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Speaker 2: coverage of the business of sports across Bloomberg platforms. Now

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Speaker 2: Here are some of the other stories we've been following

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Speaker 2: across the region this week. Zambia will seek a new

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Speaker 2: deal with the International Monetary Fund as its existing program

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Speaker 2: ends this month, Finance Minister Stumbeko Muso Kotwane said. Thursday's

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Speaker 2: announcement came a day after the Washington based lender said

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Speaker 2: that the government opted not to pursue an earlier request

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Speaker 2: to extend an existing deal by twelve months, and Uganda's

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Speaker 2: main opposition leader, Bobby Wine called for a freeze on

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Speaker 2: foreign funding for President Yowori Miseventies administration, telling Bloomberg international

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Speaker 2: support is sustaining repression as the country approaches elections marked

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Speaker 2: by security crackdowns and internet restrictions. And you can follow

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Speaker 2: these stories across Bloomberg platforms now including the Next African Newsletter.

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Speaker 2: Will put a link to that in the show notes.

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Speaker 2: This program was produced by Adrian Bradley and tiba Adebayo.

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Speaker 2: Don't forget to follow and review the show wherever you

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Speaker 2: usually get your podcasts. I'm Jennifer Zabasaja. Thanks as always

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Speaker 2: for listening.