Germany sports-focused linear channel Sportdigital has extended its rights deal with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regional soccer body, through 2028.

Through an extension unveiled today, Sportdigital will continue as the broadcast partner across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) for the AFC’s club and national team competitions.

The deal covers the 2025-28 competition cycle and entails Sportdigital covering all games from competitions such as the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 men’s Asian Cup, and the Champions League Elite. In addition, select games will be shown from properties like the Champions League Two, the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026, and the Under-23 Asian Cup in 2026.

Games will be covered either through the Sportdigital Fussball or Sportdigital Fussball 2 TV channels or through their accompanying digital platforms.

The current AFC-Sportdigital tie-up was unveiled in late 2020 and was then expanded in October 2022 to include the 2023 men’s Asia Cup in Qatar.

This deal is the second one unveiled by the AFC in the past week - a renewal through 2028-29 with Sport 24, the service owned by heavyweight sports agency IMG, was also announced. The airline and cruise-line broadcast service will continue to cover AFC competitions (including the aforementioned properties) through the 2028-29 season.

The AFC's commercial rights for the 2023-28 cycle are handled exclusively by the Asia Football Group vehicle.

In terms of other AFC broadcast rights deals over the last few months, in September the confederation brought on board BG Sports as a YouTube broadcast partner in Thailand for the next five years.

Gisbert Wundram, Sportdigital’s managing director, has said: “The diversity and breadth of the AFC competitions appeal to one of the largest and most relevant audiences for us globally, from the Middle East to the entire Pacific region. We are delighted to be able to bring the quality of the AFC's top competitions to this interesting target group in the German-speaking world, and to expand our football offering for years to come.”

In terms of its other international soccer rights, Sportdigital is currently covering a range of European soccer, such as the Dutch Eredivisie, the Spanish Copa del Rey cup competition, and the Scottish Premiership.

It also holds rights to the next Africa Cup of Nations continental men’s national team tournament.