Where and How To Watch AFCON Games From Anywhere in the World

Update: SuperSport has now announced that it will broadcast all 52 games of the tournament across the continent. MultiChoice (owners of SuperSport) “reached a commercially viable agreement with rightsholders, New World TV (NWTV),” according to a statement announcing the news. This is big news for soccer fans across all regions of the continent as they rely on SuperSport for coverage of major sporting events, not just on the continent, but across the world.

As the excitement for the 34th edition of the continent’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) brews, soccer fans from all over the world have yet to receive solid answers on where to view this year’s championship if they’re not able to travel to host country Côte d’Ivoire. This edition of the tournament has been met with a number of unexpected turns, from the delay of the competition altogether to the recent announcement by Nigeria’s Victor Boniface, of his pulling out from performing with the Super Eagles due to an injury. Now, with four days to kick off, fans are left expecting more information on how and where to watch this year’s tournament.

Last December, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), the continent’s football governing body, entered into a media rights agreement, which it described as “historic,” with Togo’s New World TV, assuming the spot that South Africa’s SuperSport TV held in previous years. CAF says that, through the agreement, viewers have the option to watch on local free-to-air or pay TV channels. But there’s not much information on either option for people on the continent.

This year’s African Cup of Nations begins Saturday, January 13; OkayAfrica breaks down where and how you can watch from wherever you are in the world

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Where to watch AFCON in North Africa

Qatari multinational network beIN Sports will provide coverage for soccer fans in North Africa.

Where to watch AFCON in West Africa

New World TV, said to have made “the biggest investment by a Pan-African broadcaster in CAF’s history,” by CAF president Patrice Motsepe, will offer English and local language viewing options to fans for free across the continent, while partnering with “various mobile operators and its television networks.” The new move created some confusion among West African soccer fans as, for years, they tuned into Sub-Saharan channel SuperSport TV to view all of the biggest games. According to Guardian Nigeria, state-owned broadcaster Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) will broadcast all games of the competition in the country free-to-air. This will likely be the case (state-owned and other free-to-air stations would broadcast games) across the region and indeed the continent.

DStv Nigeria, owned by Multichoice Group — who had earlier stated that its sports channel SuperSports lost the media rights to broadcast the tournament — today announced on X that the matches will now be broadcast on SuperSports.

Where to watch AFCON in Central Africa

Soccer fans in this region can view matches via beIN Sports, though specific broadcast plans will vary from country to country.

Where to watch AFCON in East Africa

No clear communication has been given regarding how East Africans can view the tournament, though the assumption is that either New World TV or beIN Sports will be made available to the region.

Where to watch AFCON in Southern Africa

For years, most of the world’s biggest sporting events were available to watch on Multichoice, Africa’s leading entertainment provider and owner of SuperSport TV. However, this year the media house lost out on attaining broadcasting rights, saying in a statement, “SuperSport Channel will not broadcast the AFCON 2023 … because the channel has not secured the rights to broadcast the tournament. However, AFCON 2023 games will be available through our partner broadcast stations on Free to Air (FTA) channels.” South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has also announced that it will be broadcasting all matches of the tournament across South Africa.

Where to watch AFCON in the U.K., U.S., the Middle East and beyond

Sky Sports has secured the broadcasting rights to the tournament and will make the games available to stream on any smart device via their Sky Go App. They do, however, require a subscription with packages running from £18 to £22 ($23 to $28). The BBC’s iPlayer will also stream 10 games including the semi-finals and final. A TV license is required to watch iPlayer. U.S.-based viewers can catch the games on FUBO, via contract-free NOW TV for $9.99 a month. beIN Sports USA will have the games available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand via an already active subscription with a traditional service provider. beIN Sports will also provide coverage for soccer fans in the Middle East.

While there is indeed uncertainty as to where and how people (especially on the continent) will watch the competition, it is expected that more information will be released across local stations in the coming days.