• The AFC Champions LeagueTM 2022 Group Stage kicks off on 7 April

DOHA, KUALA LUMPUR – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”) have agreed to extend the portfolio of rights to be broadcast by
its flagship channel, beIN SPORTS, for the 2022 season to now include rights to the AFC Champions LeagueTM and AFC Cup™. 

The agreement grants beIN SPORTS rights in certain MENA territories, excluding KSA, UAE, IR Iran and Iraq. beIN’s exclusive territories are (14): Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. In addition, beIN SPORTS has non-exclusive broadcast rights in the following territories: Chad, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan.

The agreement follows the announcement that beIN secured live rights to broadcast last month’s 12 remaining AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar™ matches in 18 countries across MENA. The AFC Champions LeagueTM 2022 Groups Stage kicks off on Thursday 7th April.

beIN SPORTS will continue to showcase these additional AFC rights on their four newly launched dedicated AFC channels – namely a 24/7 channel called beIN SPORTS AFC, together with three pop-up channels - beIN SPORTS 1 AFC, beIN SPORTS 2 AFC and beIN SPORTS 3 AFC -which will allow concurrent viewing of games. Every AFC match broadcast on beIN features the best-in-class studio analysis presented by beIN’s top punditry team using beIN’s state-of-the-art studio facilities.

Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA said: “We are delighted to further expand our coverage of AFC tournaments in MENA this year and to welcome back the AFC Champions LeagueTM and AFC CupTM to beIN. Our millions of viewers can expect exceptional coverage of these tournaments, which will bring the high-calibre of Asian football to the huge number of followers across the region”.

AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John said: “We are pleased to announce this partnership with beIN, which will bring the AFC’s world-class competitions to more nations across the MENA region, including nine AFC Member Associations.

“The MENA region is home to some of the most passionate fans of Asian football and it is essential that we provide them with unparalleled access to further solidify the AFC’s ambitions of confirming football as the number one sport in the Continent”.

The AFC rights will be available across all beIN’s subscription packages and add to beIN SPORTS’ unparalleled sports portfolio across the MENA region, which also includes exclusive rights to the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Conference League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, the FA Cup and many more football and other sports rights. beIN SPORTS is the official broadcast partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ across the entire MENA region.

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About beIN MEDIA GROUP

beIN MEDIA GROUP is a leading independent global media group and one of the foremost sports & entertainment networks in the world. The group distributes and produces an unrivalled array of entertainment, live sport and major international events across 5 continents, 43 countries and in 9 different languages spanning Europe, North America, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). beIN MEDIA GROUP’s flagship sports network, beIN SPORTS, holds the single largest portfolio of sports rights of any global broadcaster; and through its iconic MIRAMAX film studio, beIN holds an extensive library of Hollywood blockbusters while having a growing presence in series and movies production and distribution, as well as in the digital space. beIN MEDIA GROUP acquired Digiturk, the leading pay-tv operator in Turkey, in August 2016; and now has over 55 million subscribers worldwide.

For more information on beIN MEDIA GROUP, please contact: mediaoffice@bein.com

About the AFC

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Established in 1954, the AFC is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and comprises 47 Member Associations. The AFC organises the AFC Asian CupTM and the AFC Women’s Asian CupTM, which are the flagship Continental national team competitions, while the AFC Champions LeagueTM is the premier competition for Asian clubs, drawing millions of fans to the beautiful game across the length and breadth of the Continent and beyond.