Orange has signed a major sponsorship deal with the Confederation of African Football that will see it back all CAF competitions.

The deal includes the title sponsorship of the continent's most famous competition, which will now be known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations. The partnership, negotiated by Sportfive, will run for the next eight years. Financial details are yet to emerge.

"Orange is delighted with this partnership, which will begin in July 2009 with the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup, followed by the next Africa Cup of Nations in Angola in January 2010," said a statement from the company.

Orange is already a sponsor of the national teams of Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea and Botswana.

Financial details were not released, but when CAF originally decided to put out the tender for the sponsorship, it placed a value of around US$140 million on the long-term sponsorship. If Sportfive has secured close to that, the contract will be worth some US$17.5 million per year.