Football fans were thrown, struggling to contain their impatience with the announcement in July 2022 of the postponement of the next African Football Cup of Nations (CAN). Initially scheduled for June 23 to July 23, 2023 in five cities in Côte d'Ivoire, the final phase of the continental competition will finally begin, due to the rainy season, on January 13. But now a new threat looms over those who were happy not to have to PENDENCY the trip to Eburnia…
The African Football Confederation (CAF) has just terminated its broadcast contract with BeIn Sports in 40 countries in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Asia, France and the United States. This is a title clash between the continental body and Nasser al-Khelaïfi's group, a major football broadcasting network in Africa and elsewhere. Even before the Ivory Coast finals, there is uncertainty surrounding the broadcast of the CAN qualifiers, African club competitions – namely the Champions League and the Confederations Cup – as well as the new African Football League , which starts in October.
Lack of payment
Such a breach of contract is not unprecedented, with the governing body of African football canceling an agreement with the French group Lagardère Sports in 2019. This time, the sanction affected Sub-Saharan Africa.
The reason for the new decision notified to this 1st September seems prosaic and classic: BeIn Sports would be without payment of an amount of around 80 million euros. It was in 2017 that CAF signed an agreement with the Qatari group, worth around 387 million euros, to broadcast the competition and its qualifiers until 2028.
In a letter dated September 5, the general director of BeIn Media Group, Yousef Al-Obaidly, indicates that he refuses this cancellation, which he qualifies as “unilateral”. Recognizing “a series of issues that affected the contractual relationship”, your company promises to take “all legal measures permitted” to contest the termination and annul it. In turn, the CAF executive committee will meet next week…
With legal recourse often rhyming with slowness, supporters in the regions in question question whether their screens will remain black in the coming weeks. Enough to encourage piracy of television signals without borders…
