United Media Sàrl will be the exclusive media partner for AFC’s major national and club competitions in Southeast Europe
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today announced that United Media Sàrl will be their new media partner in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Slovenia from 2021 to 2024.
United Media Sàrl’s exclusive deal covers the AFC’s major national team and club competitions, including but not limited to the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup from the 2021 season, the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 and the AFC U23 Asian Cup Finals 2022 and 2024.
United Media Sàrl is part of the United Media Group, the leading media company in South Eastern Europe, broadcasting via more than 30 channels available for terrestrial, cable, DTH, OTT and IPTV platforms. Through this partnership, there will be extensive coverage of the AFC competitions in Southeast Europe for the first time. High-quality broadcasting services will be provided through various outlets including Sportklub channels, one of the most established networks focusing on various premium sports properties.
Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “We are pleased with this exclusive partnership which brings the AFC Competitions to Southeast Europe for the first time. We are confident that Sportklub will bring AFC competitions closer to millions of fans in the region. This deal demonstrates the value of the AFC’s competitions not only in Asia but beyond and we thank United Media Sàrl for the confidence they show in the future of Asian football by entering into this agreement.”
Nemanja Simeunovic, CEO of the Sportklub channel operation said: “I am enthusiastic about the addition of the AFC competitions to our portfolio of rights. The AFC competitions will fit perfectly in the outstanding programme line up within the three main pillars of programming: football, basketball and tennis.
“Within each of these areas, Sportklub shows a wide variety of programmes such as the UEFA National Team football, Euro 2020, Premier League, La Liga, German Bundesliga, South American World Cup qualifiers, Dutch League, FA Cup, Chinese Super League, Russian Premier Football League, totalling more than 30 football competitions, as well as the crown of European basketball, the EuroLeague and EuroCup, ATP 1000, ATP 500, WTA Premier and close to 100 ATP 250 and WTA Internationals throughout the year.
“Furthermore, SportKlub will broadcast FIVB volleyball events, NHL, NFL, F1 as well as national leagues and events of the ex-Yugoslavian region in football, basketball and handball.
“The AFC competitions will be taken very seriously as all our programmes have extensive promotion, professional and sports-fanatic commentators with fantastic news studios several times per day.”
Patrick Murphy, Board Member and CEO at Football Marketing Asia, said: “We are delighted to bring in United Media Sàrl as another valued media partner in Europe. We are confident that United Media Sàrl will further strengthen the presence of high-quality Asian football in Europe with its partner’s top-notched services.”
About the AFC
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Formed in 1954 in Manila the AFC was sanctioned by FIFA in Berne, Switzerland on June 21 of that year. The AFC has headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and consists of 47 Member Associations.
About Football Marketing Asia
Football Marketing Asia (FMA) – a Super Sports company – is the exclusive commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the rights cycles 2021-2024 and 2025-2028. FMA is headquartered in Hong Kong S.A.R., with offices in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China PR. FMA combines unparalleled global football experience with in-depth Asian know-how and expertise.
