AFC, StarTimes Confirm Media Rights Deal in Africa

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced StarTimes as their new media partner in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2021 to broadcast the AFC’s national team and club competitions including the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar Final Round (until December 31, 2021) as well as the Group Stages, Knock-out Stages and Finals of the AFC Champions League 2021 and the AFC Cup 2021 on a non-exclusive basis.

Since entering the African market in 2008, StarTimes became the fastest-growing digital TV operator with services in more than 30 countries across the Continent. Today, StarTimes is one of the biggest pan-regional Pay-TV operators in sub-Saharan Africa, servicing over 13 million Pay-TV subscribers and 27 million streaming service users.

With the AFC national team and club competitions, StarTimes further expands their already impressive portfolio of rights, which includes the Bundesliga, UEFA Europa League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020 among others.

Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The AFC is delighted with this new partnership which will bring the best of Asian football to the sub-Saharan African region, and we are thankful to the StarTimes for recognising the value of the AFC’s competitions.

“The agreement will not only increase the exposure of our world-class competitions and platforms beyond the Continent, but also enhance the stature of the AFC’s brand as we continue to expand our family of global partners.”

Philippe Zou, StarTimes Content Operation Center Director, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Asian Football Confederation to bring the AFC’s national team and club competitions to Africa. Football is by far the most popular sport in Africa and African fans expect to enjoy the best football events. I am sure they will be very excited to watch the AFC competitions.”

Patrick Murphy, Board Member and CEO at Football Marketing Asia (FMA), said: “We are very pleased to welcome StarTimes as our new media partner in sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking forward to working closely with StarTimes to strengthen the presence of Asian football in the region.”