South African public-service broadcaster the SABC has been appointed as the host broadcaster for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations national team football tournament.
The SABC struck the deal with the local organising committee for the tournament, which will take place in South Africa and is operated by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regional governing body.
Under the agreement, which includes broadcast rights for all of the competition’s 32 games, the SABC will pay a fee of R65 million (€5.7 million/$7.4 million).
“This is a CAF tournament, it must be remembered,” local organising committee chief executive Mvuso Mbebe said. “All agreements were made in conjunction with Africa’s controlling [football] body [CAF] and this was the reason there were delays at times, as all the parties involved had to be consulted.”
The event starts on January 19.