The stage is nearly set for the Carry1st Africa Cup 2025 Grand Finals in Lagos. From August 30–31, eight of Africa’s strongest Call of Duty: Mobile teams will clash for glory and a share of a $15,000 prize pool, with the champions earning Africa’s first-ever spot at the CODM World Championship 2025.
 

But long before the first shots are fired in-game, a dedicated team at Carry1st has been hard at work behind the scenes to make this event a reality. Months of planning, cross-team collaboration, venue scouting, and creative media efforts have all been crucial in bringing Africa’s biggest mobile esports tournament to life. Here’s an inside look at how it all came together.

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Months in the Making: Planning Timeline & Milestones‍

Planning for the Grand Finals began well in advance; in fact, the team started co-planning the LAN finals about three months ago, even before the qualifiers had ended. This proactive head start allowed Carry1st to hit key organizational milestones on time. According to Saanu Ajayi (a community manager at Carry1st and Operations Lead for the Africa Cup 2025), several milestones were especially important early on.
 

“We placed a premium on production this year,” Saanu explains, so locking in the right production vendor was critical. Other major milestones included securing the venue and mapping out an initial floor plan, as well as drafting a detailed production schedule. These steps formed the backbone of the event’s logistics and show flow.

Key planning milestones achieved:

• Production Vendor Selection: Choosing and onboarding an experienced production team to ensure a world-class show (a top priority for 2025).
  
  
• Venue Secured & Floor Plan: Booking the event venue early and designing a floor plan to accommodate stages, seating, and all auxiliary rooms.
  
  
• Production Schedule: Developing a comprehensive schedule/run-of-show covering rehearsals, match timing, entertainment segments, and more.
  
  

By setting these foundations, the Carry1st team ensured that each subsequent task  (from marketing to on-site setup) had a solid framework to build upon.

A Squad Effort: Cross-Functional Collaboration

One unique aspect of Carry1st’s approach is its use of “squads”: temporary project teams composed of members from various departments. For the Africa Cup Finals, Saanu leads a cross-functional squad explicitly assembled for this event.

“When there’s a project, they assign people from different teams to work on that project, and the newly formed team is called a squad,” he explains. The Africa Cup squad includes representatives from almost every part of the company, all pulling together toward a common goal. Team members span:

• Influencer Marketing & Social Media – driving online hype and community engagement
  
  
• Press/PR & Communications – handling media outreach and press coverage (like this very article!)
  
  
• Content Creation – producing videos, graphics, and stories around the tournament
  
  
• Community Management – liaising with the player community and fans
  
  
• User Acquisition (UA) – promoting the event to attract viewers and participants
  
  
• Legal & Compliance – ensuring all contracts, rules and regulatory items are in order
  
  
• Finance – managing budgets, prize payouts, and financial logistics
  
  

Despite coming from different domains, everyone on the squad has been working in sync. “Everyone has been super helpful, coming in big and pulling their weight,” says Saanu, emphasizing the all-hands-on-deck spirit. Team members aren’t afraid to step outside their usual job descriptions to assist each other.

For example, a content team member based in Nigeria might jump in to film a local segment or assist with a photoshoot if needed. This level of cooperation — “everybody helps everybody,” as Saanu puts it; has been instrumental in covering all the countless details of a major esports event. It’s a true team effort where departmental silos are broken down in favor of a unified mission.

Selecting the Perfect Venue

Early in the process, the team made a key decision about where to hold the finals. While many assumed the event would take place on Lagos Island (the city’s usual hub for large events), Carry1st intentionally chose to do things differently on the Mainland this time. “We decided very early that we were going to do it on the mainland,” Saanu notes, bucking expectations. This Grand Final is only Carry1st’s second major in-person event (following a festival event in 2023) and the first of this scale in Lagos; therefore, finding the right venue was paramount.

After scouting options in areas like Ikeja and Yaba, the team selected a venue in Ikeja that perfectly fit their needs. The deciding factor? Space, space, space. The chosen venue (the D’Podium International Event Centre in Ikeja) offers multiple halls and rooms, which is exactly what an event of this magnitude requires. “The venue afforded us a lot of space,” Saanu says. That includes enough room to set up:

• A dedicated players’ lounge for teams to practice and relax.
  
  
• Green rooms for musical artists, celebrity guests, and shoutcasters to prepare.
  
  
• A VIP area for special guests and partners to network and enjoy the show.
  
  
• Backstage prep rooms for the players and production crew to coordinate before matches.
  
  

Having all these separate facilities under one roof is a luxury that not every venue can provide. It allows the event to run smoothly; players have private areas to regroup, performers have their own space, and VIPs get a comfortable experience,  all while the main competition stage is the centerpiece.

The Mainland location also makes the event more accessible to fans all over Lagos, not just those near the Island. With the venue secured, the team could confidently plan out the audience layout, entrance flows, and on-site experiences (from sponsor booths to media zones), knowing there was ample room to work with.
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Capturing the Action: Media & Content Behind the Scenes

Putting on a great show in the arena is only half the battle – the media and content team has been equally busy making sure the excitement reaches fans far and wide. This article itself is part of that media effort, giving the community a peek behind the curtain. From day one, content creation was built into the event plan. The content squad members have been working on a range of cool content pieces to amplify the Africa Cup, in collaboration with influencers and partners.

In the lead-up to the finals, Carry1st organized a media day to capture promotional footage, player interviews, and other behind-the-scenes moments. Cameras rolled as teams arrived in Lagos, recording everything from the players’ first impressions of the stage to friendly banter during practice matches. These snippets will be shared on social channels and video platforms, so fans at home can feel the event atmosphere. The media team also coordinated with sponsors (like Mentos and Spotify) to highlight their on-site activations – ensuring that fun elements like the Mentos fan zone and live music sets get coverage in the event recap.

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What’s notable is how distributed the content effort has been. With staff and creators across different countries, the squad took a “local wherever possible” approach. If something needed filming in Nigeria, a Nigeria-based content creator was tapped to handle it. If an extra cameraman was needed in Kenya during qualifiers, someone from the team there could step in. 

“Even if you’re a new content guy in Nigeria, you can help shoot a video,” Saanu says; meaning everyone with a camera or creative eye contributed regardless of title or location. This nimble strategy not only saved time and budget, but it also gave the coverage a truly pan-African flavor.
 

The result is a rich tapestry of media content: hype videos, player profiles, social media highlights, and even a planned post-event documentary to chronicle the journey (much like Carry1st did after last year’s Nairobi finals).

Ready for the Grand Finals

Now, on the eve of the Grand Finals weekend, all the preparation is coming to fruition. The production trucks are in place, the stage lights have been tested, and the teams have arrived; full of nerves and dreams. The Carry1st squad behind the event can breathe a (small) sigh of relief knowing that they’ve done everything possible to set the players and fans up for an unforgettable experience. From meticulous planning and a cross-company squad effort, to thoughtful venue choices and creative media work, every detail was handled with care.

As the first match kicks off and the crowd’s roar fills the hall, the team backstage will be watching it all come together in real time. And when a champion is finally crowned on Sunday, it won’t just be a victory for the players, it will be a triumph for everyone behind the scenes who poured their passion into the Carry1st Africa Cup 2025. The months of hard work, late nights, and collaborative spirit have built something special that puts African esports on the world stage. Now it’s time to enjoy the show!

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