Viaplay secures Africa Cup of Nations

Nordic Entertainment’s (NENT Group) Viaplay streaming service and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have agreed a multi-year partnership to show Africa Cup of Nations, Africa Women Cup of Nations and CAF Champions League football on Viaplay in nine countries.

The biennial Africa Cup of Nations will air on the service from January 9, with all 52 matches from the next tournament to be shown. The Africa Women Cup of Nations and CAF Champions League will be available in Viaplay’s markets for the first time.

Hosted in Cameroon, the month-long tournament will feature Africa’s 24 best teams, with reigning titleholders Algeria seeking a third continental crown.

The 12^th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations will take place in Morocco in July, with 11 other teams seeking to challenge Nigeria’s historic dominance of the event. The tournament will also serve as qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which will be shown on Viaplay in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Poland.

In addition, Viaplay will stream the upcoming two seasons of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, Africa’s premier club football competition. The knockout stages of the 2021/2022 tournament run from 11 February to 29 May.

The agreement covers Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Viaplay will also stream the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2021/22 and 2022/23, Africa’s second-tier international club competition, and the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup 2022 played between the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup winners.

Peter Nørrelund, NENT Group Chief Sports Officer, said: “Every week, African stars light up Europe’s best leagues, and the Africa Cup of Nations offers a unique combination of the continent’s biggest names together with the next generation of talents. We’re also proud to become the first streamer in our markets to show the Africa Women Cup of Nations and CAF Champions League. Viaplay viewers in nine countries can now immerse themselves in today’s thriving African football scene, all the way from Cairo to the Cape.”

Veron Mosengo-Omba, CAF General Secretary, said: “We welcome on board Viaplay and we are looking forward to a successful partnership starting in January 2022 with AFCON in Cameroon. We are also thrilled to provide through this partnership great exposure for our Women’s Football and Club Competitions in exciting markets, which will give CAF an opportunity to bring these competitions to new audiences.”