AFCON 2023: where can you watch all the matches?

AFCON 2023 is just nine days away and fans are excitedly waiting for the big kick-off. I am sure you have already received the sad announcement from South African satellite TV service provider MultiChoice that SuperSports will not broadcast the tournament.

MultiChoice announced the decision in a statement saying, “SuperSport Channel will not broadcast the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 scheduled for January 13th – February 11th, 2024, because the channel has not secured the rights to broadcast the tournament”.

That will be a hard blow to those of you who already renewed your subscriptions and getting your place set for the excitement. But it is not completely blurred. It may even be better this time around as the new rights holder is planning something big for each country.

New World TV paid $80 million to secure the Media rights for English and local languages for CAF’s competitions and events for Sub-Saharan Africa. The contract is up until 2025 meaning the entire AFCON 2023 season is covered by the deal.

According to New World TV, its agreement with CAF gives it the exclusive “free access rights and paid access rights broadcast on New World TV channels throughout Africa. NWTV will broadcast in full and in real-time thirteen different competitions taking place over the next three years, including the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the League of CAF men’s and women’s champions, as well as the U17 and U20 CANs, the Beach Soccer CAN”.

What are the plans for broadcasting AFCON 2023?

According to New World TV, it will be “CAF’s agent for free access rights, with a license granted to the national channels of the 46 countries”. However, for paid rights, “access will require New World TV decoders”. This means you will not have to even pay to watch the tournament as it will be made available to you by your local national broadcaster.

Details of the broadcast plans by all the national broadcasters are not widely available now. But each broadcaster is expected to make available its broadcast plans before the tournament starts. However, for some countries such as Ghana, the national broadcaster will be the station of choice.

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the national broadcaster has secured the rights to broadcast the tournament in the country. It will be available on radio and TV including on GTV Sports Plus and GTV.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) zone, the broadcast rights have been awarded to beIN Sports. Fans are advised to check with their local broadcasters for updates as the ones that have got the license from New World TV will announce it accordingly.