Lerato Mbhiza
THE South African Broadcasting Corporation on Friday announced they had reached a deal to show the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as future Caf competitions.
The tournament, which kicks off next week, was initially scheduled to be held over June and July last year, but was postponed due to concerns over Summer weather conditions in the Ivory Coast.
The SABC deal comes as rival broadcaster SuperSport faces criticism after an unverified statement was posted on social media and was reported widely saying they hadn’t secured the broadcasting rights for Africa’s premier international competition.
SuperSport are reportedly still in negotiations to broadcast the tournament.
The SABC will air all 52 matches and its Chief Operations Officer Ian Plaatjies said SABC Sports has also acquired the live matches to the rest of the CAF events including the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, the CAF Champions League and the CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations 2024.
“This is really great news. Yes, we managed to conclude the deal today. We will actually be doing the opening ceremony right to the closing and all the games. We do believe sport is of national interest. It must not be exclusive to any broadcaster but should be available to all.”
African football’s governing body had come under criticism in recent years over its failure to secure broadcasting rights for its tournament, and was often left in an embarrassing situation where games were often streamed for free on Facebook or YouTube.
Before taking office as Caf president, Patrice Motsepe promised to address that, and with the SABC getting the rights to show all Caf competitions, it seems like the South African billionaire has delivered on that promise.
The SABC’s deal also comes a day after Caf announced that the winners of Afcon will receive a record $7 million (R130 million).
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