Canal+ secures AFCON 2027 broadcast rights across sub-Saharan Africa
Cover Image by CAF
Canal+ has secured broadcast rights to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifying campaign across sub-Saharan Africa, putting the continent's flagship national-team tournament on SuperSport and Canal+'s own French-language channels. This leaves Africa's biggest football property with a single pay-TV group across its English, French and Portuguese-speaking markets south of the Sahara.
SuperSport and Canal+’s Coverage
The agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) covers the qualifiers, which moved into the group stage last week, and the finals, which Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will co-host from 19 June to 17 July 2027. SuperSport carries the coverage across the region, while Canal+ will show the qualifiers in French in more than 20 countries. Financial terms were not disclosed. CAF opened the tender for the region in late August, with bids closing on 14 September. The package covered free-to-air and pay-TV rights in English, Swahili, Portuguese, isiZulu, Wolof, Yoruba and other local languages. French-language pay-TV rights were excluded.
David Mignot, chief executive of Canal+ Africa, said: "What makes this agreement particularly exciting is the journey. It starts now, with the qualifiers, and builds towards an historic AFCON in East Africa next year. Fans will be able to follow that story unfold on SuperSport, from the battles for qualification to the drama of the finals."
The 24-team finals will be the first AFCON co-hosted by three nations and the first staged in East Africa since Ethiopia in 1976. Canal+ said the finals will be available on entry-level packages. This is the clearest test yet of what Canal+'s takeover of MultiChoice means for African football rights. Before the deal, CAF could at least in principle offer SuperSport's English-language reach against Canal+'s hold on francophone Africa. Both now sit inside one group, which between the tender and its existing French-language pay-TV position covers all three language markets. Canal+ added UEFA club competition rights across the region in August and already carries most of Europe's major leagues.
Certainty for CAF
The qualifiers were on air from the first group-stage matchday and the finals have a home nine months out. With few rivals able to bid at scale across sub-Saharan pay-TV, the price of the next cycle will be set largely by what one buyer is willing to pay.
The entry-level commitment matters most in the host nations. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have spent heavily on stadiums for this tournament, and their governments will want home audiences watching. CAF's tender also offered free-to-air rights, and no award has been announced. Whether those go to public broadcasters in the host nations, or sit with SuperSport for sub-licensing, is the question regulators in the region are likely to press as June approaches.
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