Hong Kong are one of the AFC’s minnows, and their appearance at the 2023 Asia Cup was their first at that tournament in 55 years. (Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has renewed its media rights deal in Hong Kong (China) with broadcaster HOY.

Through a collaboration, HOY – part of the iCable Communications telecoms heavyweight – will continue as the official media partner of the top-tier AFC competitions, providing free-to-air coverage of AFC action in the Asian market.

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The deal extends to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup national teams tournament, the AFC Champions League Elite in 2026-27, the AFC Champions League Two in 2026-27, and also covers "certain rights" to the 2026-27 AFC Women's Champions League.

The initial tie-up between the two parties was unveiled ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The deal was brokered by the Asia Football Group (AFG), which is the exclusive commercial partner of the AFC for the 2023 to 2028 rights cycle. AFC took over the body’s media and sponsorship rights after the AFC terminated its deal with Football Marketing Asia in 2023.

Datuk Seri Windsor John, the AFC's general secretary, has commented: "This agreement highlights our shared commitment to expanding the game's footprint, and we are confident that HOY will continue to deliver the highest standards of broadcasting for our passionate fans in the territory.”

Patrick Li, chief sports officer at i-Cable Communications Limited, added: "Sports have always been a cornerstone of HOY's programming that we take immense pride in. Moving forward, HOY will leverage its comprehensive media network across multiple platforms—including television, our official website, and mobile application—to broadcast the matches, ensuring fans will not miss a single moment of the thrilling action.”

In terms of recent AFC media rights deals, in early July a new agreement with CBS Sports in the US was unveiled.

That deal, running until 2028, will see CBS Sports provide live English-language coverage for all games during the men’s AFC Asian Cup 2027 and the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2028 national team tournaments via streaming service Paramount+.

Malaysian pay-TV broadcaster Astro renewed its long-running deal with the AFC in late June, meanwhile.