Sportdigital, a Germany-based sports-focused linear channel, has extended its rights deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) through 2028. This extension ensures that Sportdigital will continue as the broadcast partner across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) for AFC's club and national team competitions.
The renewed agreement between Sportdigital and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) covers the 2025-28 competition cycle. As part of this deal, Sportdigital will provide comprehensive coverage of all games from competitions such as the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The coverage will also extend to major events like the 2027 men’s Asian Cup and Champions League Elite. In addition, select games from properties like Champions League Two, Women’s Asian Cup in 2026, and Under-23 Asian Cup in 2026 will be shown. Fans can access these games either through Sportdigital Fussball or Sportdigital Fussball 2 TV channels or their accompanying digital platforms.
Continuation of a successful partnership
This extension follows an initial partnership between AFC and Sportdigital unveiled in late 2020. The partnership was expanded in October of last year to include coverage of the upcoming men's Asia Cup in Qatar scheduled for next year.
In addition to this extension with Sportdigital, AFC recently announced another renewal through to the end of season '28-'29 with Sports24 - a service owned by heavyweight sports agency IMG.
The commercial rights for AFC's competitions during this period are exclusively managed by Asia Football Group vehicle.
Expanding broadcast partnerships globally
Over recent months, AFC has been actively expanding its broadcast partnerships globally. In September last year, BG Sports was brought on board as a YouTube broadcast partner in Thailand for five years.
Gisbert Wundram, Managing Director at Sportdigital commented on their continued collaboration with AFC, stating that the diversity and breadth of AFC competitions appeal to one of their largest and most relevant global audiences. He expressed delight in bringing the quality of AFC's top competitions to this target group in the German-speaking world. Sportdigital is not only focused on Asian football. The channel also covers a range of European soccer, including Dutch Eredivisie, Spanish Copa del Rey cup competition, and Scottish Premiership matches. It also holds rights to broadcast the next Africa Cup of Nations continental men’s national team tournament.
This extended partnership between Sportdigital and AFC will ensure that sports fans across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland continue to enjoy comprehensive coverage of major Asian football events for years to come.
