AFC rights snapped up by Saudi Sports Company

The agreement will give the SSC exclusive rights in Saudi Arabia to air the AFC qualifiers for the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and the 2023 Asian Cup in China as well as the AFC Champions League elite club competition.

• AFC pens four-year sponsorship deal with Saudi megacity Neom

The AFC confirmed that the SSC will initially showcase all competitions through its GSA over-the-top (OTT) live platform before broadcasting via satellite on television channels in the last quarter of 2021, with more details to be announced in due course.

Commenting on the partnership, AFC general secretary Dato’ Windsor John, the said: “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.”

“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.”

The deal with the AFC is the second major Saudi oriented agreement to be announced in recent weeks.

As SportsPro recently reported, Saudi Arabia agreed a new four-year sponsorship deal between the country’s Neom project and the AFC.

The agreement covers the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, as well as the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China, the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India and the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan. SportsPro Media