Global media giant Canal Plus has snapped up domestic French, English, and Portuguese-language rights to soccer's Africa Cup of Nations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Through a deal disclosed today, the SuperSport pay-TV broadcaster owned by the Canal Plus Group will cover the 2027 AFCON, set to take place across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and will also show the qualifying campaign in advance of that tournament.
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A tender for these rights across the southern portion of Africa was launched by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in late August, with a deadline for bid submissions of September 14.
The Canal+ broadcaster itself has also snapped up French-language rights for the same events in the same region.
The qualifying campaign for next year's AFCON – set to contain 24 teams – began in March with the preliminary round, with this deal coming into effect in time for the start of the qualifying group stages, which began on September 25.
Now, David Mignot, chief executive of Canal+ Africa, has commented: "What makes this agreement particularly exciting is the journey. It starts now, with the qualifiers, and builds towards an historic AFCON in East Africa next year. Fans will be able to follow that story unfold on SuperSport, from the battles for qualification to the drama of the finals."
The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations – the first edition of that tournament to be hosted jointly by three countries – will run between June 19 and July 17 next year.
The last edition took place in Morocco, in late 2025, and was won by the hosts.
In terms of recent Canal+ soccer rights deals for sub-Saharan Africa, early August saw the media powerhouse tie up rights to UEFA men’s club competitions in a range of territories across that region.
The deal spans the full range of English, Portuguese, and French-speaking nations in sub-Saharan Africa, cementing Canal+ and SuperSport’s pay-TV sports dominance in the region.
Between them, Canal+ and SuperSport also air the vast majority of top-tier and prominent European soccer leagues for a sub-Saharan African audience.
