The Botswana Football Association is poised to collect an annual subvention of roughly P10 million from the Confederation of African Football, a windfall that arrives as the continent’s governing body opens its coffers wider than at any point in recent memory.
The sum reflects a steep climb. CAF’s support for its member associations has swelled from US$200,000 in 2021 to a projected US$700,000 in 2026- a near-fourfold expansion in half a decade, and a meaningful enlargement of the war chest available to national federations across Africa.
At prevailing exchange rates, that latest allocation converts to about P10 million, though the eventual pula figure will hinge on where the currency sits on the day the money changes hands.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe laid out the organisation’s financial ambitions at the CAF Strategy Conference, convened in Sal, Cape Verde, from October 7 to 9. The gathering served as a forum to interrogate the future of the African game – the fiscal muscle of its national bodies, and the continent’s standing on the world stage.
In an interview with WeekendSport, BFA president Tariq Babitseng traced the arc of CAF’s annual subvention since Motsepe took office in 2021. The allocation, he said, rose from US200 000 that year to US$ 250, 000 in 2022, then to US$275, 000 in 2023. It advanced again to US$400,00 in 2024 and US$525, 000 in 2025.
The planned US$700,000 for 2026 would mark yet another leap, handing member associations deeper reserves to underwrite their operations and development work. For the BFA, the money carries the promise of sturdier youth pipelines, sharper competition structures and the administrative scaffolding that keeps the game running. It could equally feed the development of coaching, refereeing and grassroots programmes – provided the funds are steered toward clearly drawn priorities rather than scattered thin.
A rising tide for COSAFA, too
The largesse does not stop at national borders. CAF’s regional zonal bodies are also set to benefit. Babitseng, who doubles as president of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations, said zonal funding had grown from US$500,000 in 2021 to a projected US$900,000 in 2026.
In 2021, the zonal subvention was US$500, 000. It increased to US$550, 000 in 2022 and 2023, while in 2024 and 2025 it was also increased to US$750,000.
The distribution of that zonal pot, he added, is weighted by the number of member associations within each region. COSAFA, with 14 members, stands to claim the largest slice. The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations, with 12, follows close behind, with the West African Football Union – nine members strong – and the Central African zone also drawing allocations.
Motsepe eyes a US$1 million horizon
Motsepe’s appetite reaches well beyond the current US$700 000 figure. He is pressing toward annual funding of US$1 million for each of CAF’s 54 member associations. Fully realised, the plan would layer an additional
US$300,000 onto every allocation and lift CAF’s total yearly commitment to US$54 million – a figure contingent, however, on the body growing its revenue through sponsorships, commercial partnerships and other income streams.
The president has been insistent on one point: more money must translate into measurable gains for African football, not merely fatter budgets for national associations. Among the targets he has flagged for heavier investment are football academies, school competitions, amateur football and the professional leagues. These are the load-bearing structures of a healthy ecosystem – the machinery that spots young talent and sharpens the quality of domestic play. For Botswana, the test will be to ensure the extra resources fuel durable development, delivering returns that outlast the paperwork of administration.
The Pressure to Convert Money into Results
The expanded allocations shift the burden squarely onto national associations to prove the money is working. Motsepe has stressed the need for better standards and improved refereeing across the continent, pointing to the importance of firmer systems at both the administrative and technical levels.
For the BFA, the verdict will rest not on the size of the cheque but on what it buys: stronger grassroots foundations, improved youth development, better coaching, more competitive domestic football and renewed confidence in how the game is run.
The CAF Strategy Conference also weighed the lessons of Africa’s showing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and its preparations for the 2030 edition, as the continent presses to close the gap at the sport’s highest level.
