Asian Football Confederation (AFC)

A victory for Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa in Fifa presidential election could have major repercussions on the sale of Asian Football Confederation media rights.

The Asian Football Confederation will enjoy a huge increase in the value of its rights in China in its new deal with Le Sports.

Le Sports has acquired rights for Asian Football Confederation events in a deal that has given the Chinese internet company a 20-per-cent stake in the Lagardère Sports agency’s Asia-focused division.

The Asian Football Confederation is set to conclude a fresh eight-year contract with commercial rights partner the Lagardère Sports agency, according to Reuters.

The annual congress of the Asian Football Confederation, which took place this week in Bahrain, was ostensibly a political event - but a whole range of media-rights issues were under discussion.

All of the industry’s major rights agencies were present in Bahrain this week at the Asian Football Confederation annual congress to try to agree media-rights deals with Asian federations.

The rights-trading subsidiaries of sports marketing company Lagardère Unlimited look set for a double boost. World Sport Group is close to renewing its contract with the Asian confederation, while Sportfive remains favourite to renew its deal for African confederation rights.