The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”), today announced that it is delighted to recommit to its partnership with beIN after the parties reached agreement on the matters that were in dispute.
beIN and CAF conducted discussions which resulted in the re-establishment of a mutually beneficial partnership between the parties.
The President of CAF Dr Patrice Motsepe said that CAF is deeply committed to promoting and advancing the interest of all its sponsors and partners and building mutually beneficial relationships with them and with all our stakeholders.
The CAF president pointed out, “In order for football in Africa to be globally competitive and self-supporting, the quality of African football must be world-class and appealing to football spectators, sponsors and partners. Significant financial resources are also required for investments in youth academies, football clubs, national teams, CAF Member Associations, stadiums and other football infrastructure and facilities.”
In addition, Mostsepe noted that CAF is delighted about its partnership with beIN and is committed to growing and expanding this relationship for the benefit of both parties.
In September this year, CAF ended US$415m broadcast deal with BeIN Sports five years early. The deal, which is the federation’s most lucrative commercial contract, was signed in 2017.
The partnership was set to run until 2028 but a long-running dispute over payments has led to a premature conclusion.
According to sources, CAF opted to exit the arrangement with five years to run because of an alleged breach of contract and plans to recover up to US$80 million that it believes it is owed.
In response, BeIN acknowledged there had been a “number of issues” that had affected the relationship, particularly the postponement and rescheduling of matches at the men’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament due to Covid-19 and inclement weather.
The 2023 edition of the event was scheduled to take place this summer but was delayed until January 2024 due to concerns of severe rain in the Ivory Coast. These changes, BeIN argued, impacted the value of the rights and made it want to renegotiate.
The Qatar-based broadcaster said that unless there was an amicable resolution, it would be forced to take legal action. This means CAF could be forced to pay out compensation if its own claim isn’t successful.
This is the second time in four years that CAF has cancelled its biggest commercial contract.
In 2019, the African football body ended a US$1 billion television and marketing pact with Lagardère Sports after several courts found the deal – the most financially lucrative in CAF’s history – was anti-competitive.
Several Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers was cancelled, while CAF was forced to pay US$50 million in compensation to the agency.
BeIN Sport, whose rights were originally sourced through the deal with Lagardère, opted to continue its arrangement and assumed the position of principal broadcaster.
However, South African broadcaster Supersport withdrew, meaning there has been an effective blackout in sub-Saharan Africa since the termination.
The Qatar based sport television, covers 40 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions, as well as France and the USA.
Included are the rights to CAF’s international and club soccer tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations and the Champions League.
