AIPS ASIA News:

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced the renewal of its media rights agreement with Sport 24, the dedicated live sports channel for the airline and cruise markets, through to 2028.

The partnership will see Sport 24 broadcast the AFC’s competitions on airlines and cruise ships around the world, including the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26, the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™, AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™, as well as the AFC Champions League Elite™ for the 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 seasons.

Datuk Seri Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The AFC is delighted to extend its partnership with Sport 24, which will showcase not only the ever-improving quality of the AFC’s competitions but also expand the reach of Asian football to more audiences.

“We thank Sport 24 for their steadfast belief in the AFC’s world-class competitions and we are excited to strengthen our partnership with them as we strive to create more memorable moments for our passionate fans and travellers all across the world.”

Richard Wise, SVP Content and Channels at IMG, added: “Football is at the heart of Sport 24’s vast portfolio of live sports, which we deliver to international passengers across airlines and cruise ships throughout the year. We’re delighted to extend our partnership with the AFC to bring its world-class competitions to our global audiences for the next five years.”

Sport 24 is owned and operated by the industry-leading global sports marketing agency, IMG. It can be viewed on more than 600 aircrafts and over 120 cruise ships, which include Etihad Airways, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, MSC Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises and more. Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are produced from IMG’s production headquarters at Stockley Park, near London’s Heathrow Airport. Sport 24 also shows live action from Formula One, NBA, NFL (inflight only), golf’s majors, tennis’ grand slams, cricket tournaments and more.

The deal marks the latest addition to Sport 24’s extensive live football coverage, which includes the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Patrick Murphy, CEO of AFG, said: “We are dedicated to working along with the AFC in achieving their goal of elevating Asian football and making it accessible to fans globally. The partnership with Sport 24 brings us closer to realising this goal by making Asian football competitions available to fans everywhere, including in the skies and across the seas.”

About the AFC
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Established in 1954, the AFC is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and comprises 47 Member Associations.

The AFC organises the AFC Asian Cup™, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ and the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ which are the flagship Continental national team football and futsal competitions, while the AFC Champions League Elite™ and AFC Women’s Champions League™ are the premier competitions for Asian clubs, drawing millions of fans to the beautiful game across the length and breadth of the Continent and beyond.

About IMG
IMG is an industry-leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, digital services, and events management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (Wimbledon), EuroLeague Basketball, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.

About Asia Football Group
Asia Football Group (AFG) is the exclusive commercial agency for the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) competitions from 2023-2028. AFG’s partnership with the AFC covers the commercial rights for all major AFC National Team and Club competitions, including the AFC Asian Cup™, AFC Asian Qualifiers™, AFC Women’s Asian Cup™, AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers, AFC Champions League Elite™, AFC Women’s Champions League™, and AFC Champions League Two™ as well as AFC youth and futsal competitions.

Courtesy AFC