Afghanistan’s Ariana Television Network (ATN) commercial broadcaster has secured rights in the country for English soccer’s EFL Cup knockout competition.
Known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, the remaining five fixtures in the 2025-26 edition of the competition will be shown exclusively by ATN live and free-to-air.
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This will begin with the January 13 semi-final between holders Newcastle United and Manchester City, followed by the Chelsea vs Arsenal on January 14, with the reverse fixtures taking place on February 3 (Arsenal vs Chelsea) and February 4 (Manchester City vs Newcastle United).
Following that, the showpiece final will take place on March 22 at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, with ATN to show that game live as well.
This announcement supplements a growing suite of soccer rights for ATN, which recently secured exclusive media rights to broadcast multiple Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions.
Among its previous major sports events broadcasts, meanwhile, ATN provided coverage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
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By GlobalDataThe broadcaster also aired the 2018 and 2022 editions of men's soccer's iconic FIFA World Cup.
In mid-2025, ATN showcased the revamped FIFA Club World Cup competition, which was won by English side Chelsea.
Media rights for the Carabao Cup, as well as all other EFL competitions, are distributed by sports marketing agency Pitch International, which renewed its distribution remit in 2024.
This current season is the penultimate year of energy drinks brand's Carabao’s title sponsorship of the English League Cup.
The agreement, which began in the 2017-18 campaign, was renewed in 2023 through the end of the 2026-27 season, taking the partnership past the 10-season mark and making it the longest title sponsor in league cup history.
Thai-based energy drink Carabao has activated in collaboration with the EFL across Asia, particularly Thailand, but also in Afghanistan, where the energy drink market is strong.
Other prominent sponsors of the EFL across the 2025-26 season include sporting goods heavyweight Puma, breakfast foods conglomerate Kellog’s, and Irish whiskey brand Jameson.
