End To CAF TV BlackOut?

Dec 9, 2021 - 07:18 am

By Mazola Molefe

More than two years since the blackout of CAF matches on pay channel SuperSport, there could be light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

CAF confirmed recently that it had "opened an invitation to tender for the host broadcast and TV services across selected events in 2022 and 2023, including its flagship event, the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations in Cameroon".

The press statement was long overdue.

It was in November 2018 that the continental motherbody announced it had cancelled a $1-billion TV and marketing rights deal with Lagardere following a judgement that it had breached competition rules, though the French-based company insisted it would go to war to make sure the contract remains in place.

SuperSport has not televised games since, although that could change with the latest decision taken by the CAF executive, led by president Patrice Motsepe.

"The tender process includes both the Afcon and the Champions League. The FIFA World Cup qualifiers are sold separately, and I suppose those will remain separate. As things stand, the tender process is for the 2022 Afcon in Cameroon and a full year of what is then club football – all I can say is that you'd need to watch the space, with a smile on my face. I can't say anything before the official announcements. But it is looking promising," Marc Jury, the SuperSport CEO, told the Siya crew.

He emphasised that football on the continent was important to their offering.

"Just to clarify how that relationship ended, our agreement was with Lagardere Sports as the agent and when CAF terminated that contract, so was ours," Jury explained.

"I suppose what we are looking at as the biggest funder of football on the African continent is asking would we want to support CAF and get behind them? Of course we would. We would love to work with them and grow their competitions going forward. We really look forward to being part of the tender process again, signalling our intent. I am sure there will be further discussion with CAF down the line, this is a relatively short term tender that they've released, and I think that they will probably look to issue a longer term partnership. Maybe sometime during the course of 2022."

CAF has included these events in the tender: