The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has signed two new partnerships ahead of the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon), with almost a month to go until the tournament kicks off.
Japanese motoring brand Yamaha will join the CAF as an Official Supporter of this year’s Afcon, which takes place in Egypt from June 21 to July 19.
The news of Yamaha’s signing comes shortly after the CAF confirmed a new partnership with German tyre brand Continental, under a five-year deal from 2019 to 2023.
Under the deal, Continental will sponsor three editions of Afcon, which takes place every two years.
Read this: Visa targets new business with Uefa and Afcon deals, says chief brand officer
The German brand will also take over as the title sponsor of the Best Goalkeeper Award, and will fit the team buses of all 24 teams at the tournament.
Continental and Yamaha are the third and fourth brands to partner with the CAF since Ahmad Ahmad took over as CAF president in 2017, in addition to Visa and 1xBet.
Since taking charge of the CAF, Ahmad has introduced several changes to the Afcon competition to attract new sponsors, including changing the format from 16 to 24 teams, and moving the competition from January to June to prevent clashes with Europe’s top five leagues.
French oil brand Total and French telco Orange were already existing partners of the CAF before Ahmad’s presidency.
In 2016, Total signed as title sponsor of 10 CAF competitions, including Afcon, under an eight-year deal until 2023.