The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says a record number of global broadcasters will beam the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from Cameroon to millions of fans in 157 countries.
CAF’s Communications Department, in a statement on Sunday, said Africa’s star footballers’ popularity and talent ensured unprecedented interest from some of the leading broadcasters in Africa and across the globe.
It listed some of the top broadcasters who will show the tournament across sub-Saharan Africa to include Canal+, SuperSport and StarTimes.
CAF added that beIN Sport will broadcast the tournament across North Africa and the Middle East.
”It will also show it on its channels in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, including the United States, and as far afield as Cambodia and Laos.”
The continental football governing body further said ESPN would broadcast AFCON 2021 in its Latin American territories in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
”This will include Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, British Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, Guyana, and Bolivia,” it said.
CAF also stated that in the UK, the BBC and BSkyB would broadcast the tournament.
”This will be to an audience that will be eager to see how the stars from the English Premier League fare in Cameroon.
It added that in Brazil leading broadcaster Bandeirantes would show the tournament.
CAF disclosed also that in Europe, France would be covered by beIN Sports, Italy by Discovery and Germany by SportDigital.
“Nordic fans will be able to watch on NENT’s sport channels, while Eastern Europe will tune into SportKlub,” it stated.
The confederation also expressed its belief that all of Africa’s football fans are sure to be tuning in for the tournament.
”The public broadcasters from the participating countries are set to beam their nations’ games live from Cameroon.”
It however assured that the territories not covered by its broadcast partners have been taken into consideration.
”CAF will stream all matches live with English commentary on its YouTube channel, CAF TV, and cafonline.com.”
The football governing body noted that its President, Patrice Motsepe, had consistently spoken about a need to ensure that African football is accessible not only in the African continent but globally.
“The AFCON is our flagship event, not only as CAF but as Africa. It is an event that is unrivalled in appeal and prestige. We are not surprised by the huge demand from major networks globally.
“It’s a clear indication of the increasing popularity of African football around the world and shows clearly how AFCON has increased in stature and appeal to become one of the world’s biggest sporting events.”(NAN)
