KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has signed an exclusive deal with the Saudi Sports Company for the media rights of the AFC Competitions covering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the commercial cycle 2021-2024 – it was announced on Monday.
The deal gives the Saudi Sports Company exclusive rights in Saudi Arabia to broadcast the AFC’s major National Team and Club competitions, including the AFC Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 as well as the AFC Champions League.
The agreement is in line with the Saudi leadership’s vision to ensure the broadcast of premium sports content in one of the most passionate fanbases in the MENA region, the AFC said in a statement.
“This is an extremely significant moment for the AFC as Saudi Arabia have long been one of the strongest football nations not only in the Gulf and Middle East but also in Asia,” Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary said.
“Now, this agreement will provide the millions of passionate and committed football fans in Saudi Arabia with the most comprehensive access to, and best coverage of, Asia’s best and most valued football competitions.”
“We are grateful to the Saudi Sports Company for their confidence and investment in Asian football and we look forward to working with them in further developing and growing the interest in our world-class competitions.”
Saudi Sports Company will initially showcase all competitions through their GSA over-the-top (OTT) live platform service before broadcasting via satellite on television channels in the last quarter of 2021, with more details to be announced in due course.
Under the agreement, the Saudi Sports Company is committed towards leveraging on the latest available technology to bring top-class action to fans within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attain the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
