The label

What the Copyright Friendly Label is

The Copyright Friendly Label is a recognition system for organisations that use creative works lawfully. It turns copyright compliance from an invisible legal obligation into a visible, verifiable and commercially useful mark — awarded on evidence, published openly, and withdrawn when the evidence stops holding.

General objective

To make the respect of copyright a normal, visible and rewarded condition of participating in African football — so that the creative industries that give the game its atmosphere are paid for the work that does it.

Specific objectives

Position the confederation as a first mover

Make the African football confederation the first organisation on the continent to run a copyright-friendly tournament, and make that choice visible to teams, hosts, media and fans.

Structure collaboration between football and creators

Bind federations, local organising committees, collective management organisations, copyright offices and creator associations into a single working framework rather than a series of one-off deals.

Train and raise awareness among users

Equip broadcasters, hotels, fan zones, host city councils, transport and tourism operators, agencies and merchandisers to use protected works lawfully — before the tournament, not after a dispute.

Evaluate the impact of the label

Measure economic benefit, creator remuneration, public perception and the quality of collaborations, and publish the results so the model can be replicated with evidence.

What the label delivers

Four benefits, in the order stakeholders usually care about them.

Branding and positioning

The label is a visible mark. A broadcaster, hotel or fan zone that carries it signals to partners, sponsors and audiences that its use of creative works is lawful — a reputational asset in procurement and sponsorship negotiations.

Economic added value

Lawful use converts informal music consumption into traceable, remunerated use. Licence revenue flows back to creators and their organisations, and labelled entities gain preferential access to the tournament catalogue and to sponsor spend.

Respect for creators' rights

Composers, performers, producers, photographers, visual artists and fashion designers are identified, credited and paid. Split sheets, cue sheets and registration references are conditions of the label, not afterthoughts.

A culture of respect

Beyond a single tournament, the label normalises the idea that creative work has an owner and a value. That cultural shift is the durable outcome — it outlives the competition that carried it.

Why football and the creative industries converge

Shared audiences

Football and music reach the same continental audience with the same emotional intensity. Anthems, chants and broadcast beds are already part of the game; the label formalises what is already happening.

Shared venues

Stadiums, fan zones and hotel activations are cultural venues for the duration of a tournament, and reusable cultural infrastructure afterwards. Licensing them properly builds a permanent market.

Shared value chains

Hospitality, transport, tourism, sports betting, advertising, marketing and merchandising all monetise creative works during a tournament. Each is a licensable relationship.

Shared digital surface

Streaming, social clips, highlight packages and second-screen experiences multiply uses of the same works. Metadata and clear licence scopes are what make those uses payable rather than contested.

Youth engagement

A route into the formal creative economy for young composers, producers and designers, through song camps and commissioned work rather than unpaid exposure.

Economic opportunity

New licensing revenue for creators and their organisations, and a defensible compliance position for the businesses that use their work.

Innovation

Registries, metadata discipline and transparent licence summaries as reusable infrastructure for any future event on the continent.

Global visibility

A continental tournament is a global broadcast window. Music, photography, visual art and fashion carried lawfully through that window travel with attribution attached.

From pilot to standard

Côte d'Ivoire
Phase one — Pilot
The first application of the copyright-friendly approach at a continental football tournament: proving that broadcasters, hotels and fan zones will accept criteria, verification and publication.
AFCON 2027 · Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Phase two — Tri-national deployment
The pilot becomes a working system across three jurisdictions, three collective management environments and one tournament: song camps, a public registry, delegation accommodation rules and sponsor procurement conditions. Launched at the Mashariki Creative Economy Expo.
Beyond 2027
Phase three — Continental extension
Extension to national leagues, club competitions and non-football events, with the registry model handed to national copyright offices and collective management organisations.
2030 World Cup · Morocco and co-hosts
Phase four — Global stage
Carrying a proven African model into a World Cup hosted in part on the continent — the point at which the label stops being a regional experiment and becomes a standard.

Where to go next

The objectives above are operational commitments with pages attached to them.

Criteria and application Training and awareness Impact indicators