Sub-Saharan African pay-TV operator SuperSport has snapped up exclusive rights to the remaining African qualifiers for men’s soccer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.
SuperSport, owned by regional broadcast heavyweight MultiChoice, will cover all Africa-zone qualifying action from matchday 5 onwards (as well as the post-qualifying playoffs in November this year).
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The heavyweight operator announced this acquisition yesterday, ahead of multiple qualifying clashes taking place over the coming weekend.
The Saudi Sports Company secured global Africa-zone qualifying rights in late 2023, through a deal with global soccer governing body FIFA itself. The Iris Sport Media agency was then appointed as a sales agent in November of that year, for distribution across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Other deals announced at that time included a tie-up with Germany’s Sportdigital.
Overall, the process has been handled by FIFA, not by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The original tender process for rights began in July 2023.
In terms of African representation at the 2026 World Cup (to be held across Mexico, the US, and Canada), at least nine teams will qualify, potentially 10.
That tournament will involve 48 teams, up from 32 sides (including five African representatives) at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
CAF World Cup qualifiers taking place today include Ethiopia taking on Egypt, Rwanda playing Nigeria, Burundi facing off against Ivory Coast, and Botswana hosting Algeria.
In total, there are nine groups across the CAF qualifiers.
For the World Cup itself, meanwhile, FIFA opened rights tenders in sub-Saharan Africa in late 2023.
For the 2022 edition, rights were held in that region by a combination of SuperSport (English-language), New World TV (French-language), and a range of national broadcasters who then secured sub-licenses from New World TV.
At that tournament, Morocco made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to France.
