The upcoming men's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) national teams football tournament has secured a record number of European broadcast rights deals, thanks to the combined efforts of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its media rights agency, IMG. This development is significant as many iconic stars set to play at the tournament are contracted to European clubs.
CAF has successfully brought in 20 partners across 30 European territories. These partnerships have been facilitated by IMG, demonstrating their crucial role in expanding AFCON's reach. The 24-team tournament will take place in Morocco from December 21 to January 18. Several significant agreements have been reached for this edition of AFCON. For the first time in history, Channel 4 in the UK will broadcast all 52 matches free-to-air (FTA), marking a milestone in AFCON's coverage. In Spain, a new deal with Movistar has been established to further broaden AFCON's visibility within Europe.
The Greek FTA network ERT is set to reintroduce AFCON coverage for its audiences, bringing the excitement of African football back to Greece. Additionally, Norway will be broadcasting the tournament FTA for the first time through a partnership with VGTV, adding another European country to AFCON's expanding viewership. In addition to these new agreements, several returning broadcasters such as Sport Italia, Ziggo Sport from Netherlands and SportDigital across Germany, Austria and Switzerland have also been highlighted by IMG as key agreements.
Impact on stars playing for European clubs
Many expected stars playing at AFCON are associated with various prominent European clubs. Therefore these broadcasting deals not only increase visibility for these players but also enhance their connection with fans back home who can now follow their performances closely during the tournament.
In terms of recent activities by CAF related to AFCON sponsorship, the body added Moroccan railway ONCF to its stable of sponsors earlier this month. The company is set to play a pivotal role in transporting fans, teams and officials across the tournament's host cities – Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Tangier.
The record number of European broadcast rights deals for AFCON signifies a major step forward for African football. It not only enhances the global visibility of the tournament but also provides an opportunity for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts across Europe to engage more closely with AFCON. This development is expected to contribute significantly towards promoting African football on a global scale.
