Subscription broadcaster Sportdigital Fussball has struck a rights deal in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for selected national team and club competitions organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The deal runs from 2021 to 2024. The agreement covers the U23 Asian Cup in 2022 and 2024, all men’s youth competitions, the second-tier AFC Cup club competition, and all futsal men’s national team and club tournaments.
Sportdigital Fussball, which has shown AFC competitions in the past, will showcase the coverage on its linear channel and across its digital outlets.
The deal was brokered by Football Marketing Asia (FMA), the exclusive commercial agency of the AFC for the 2021-2024 and 2025-2028 rights cycles.
Gisbert Wundram, managing director of Sportdigital Fussball, said: “Our package with the AFC includes well over 150 live matches per season across multiple national team and club competitions and runs for at least four years until 2024, giving us plenty of planning security.”
The rights announcement came shortly after the news that the remainder of this year’s AFC Cup has been cancelled due to the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sports broadcaster Sport1 recently agreed a two-year deal with the AFC covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The agreement covers the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the AFC Champions League, which will be broadcast in the three countries for the first time.
Last year’s Asian Cup, the AFC’s flagship national teams tournament, was broadcast in Germany on Eurosport as part of a pan-European rights deal with the Discovery-owned broadcaster.
The Sportdigital deal marks the AFC’s latest in Europe after it also recently announced an agreement with SIA Media Group. The SIA Media Group deal covers Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and includes the 2022 Fifa World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final Round, the 2023 Asian Cup in China, and the annual Champions League club competition in the 2021-2024 cycle.
The SIA Media Group and Sport1 deals were also brokered by FMA, which rebranded from DDMC Fortis in June.