CAF has appointed Media Experts Limited and MBS to sell the free-to-air television rights for AFCON 2027, with coverage planned in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the continent’s major markets.
The Confederation of African Football has settled how AFCON 2027 will be watched on television. According to Inside World Football, the governing body has appointed Media Experts Limited and MBS as distributors of its free-to-air coverage in sub-Saharan Africa, tasking them with selling the tournament’s rights.
The deal is not limited to the matches of AFCON Pamoja 2027 alone, scheduled from 19 June to 17 July in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The package also includes the 2026 futsal and beach soccer AFCONs as well as the 2027 U20 and U17 tournaments, the specialist outlet reports.
Three hosts and key markets
Free-to-air coverage will be provided in the three host countries — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania — and in the continent’s biggest football markets, including Nigeria and South Africa. Ghana, DR Congo, Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia are also among the covered territories, with each country’s broadcasters to be announced in the coming months.
The chosen model splits the region between Canal+ on pay-TV and agencies on free-to-air, giving CAF two revenue streams without sacrificing the tournament’s reach, according to the outlet. In Nigeria, 64% of fans watch matches live on free-to-air, according to GeoPoll.
Kunle Falodun, managing director of Media Experts Limited, sums up the challenge: “Free-to-air television is where Africa watches its biggest moments together, and AFCON is the biggest football moment we have”. For brands and sponsors, it is a chance to associate with Africa’s most-watched national team competition, with the reach and trust that only free-to-air can offer.
Inflated audiences, a target still to be measured
CAF president Patrice Motsepe has claimed that nearly two billion people watched the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast and that Morocco 2025 reached 3.6 billion viewers, up to six billion including digital views. CAF’s own tender documents, however, put Morocco’s TV audience at above 3.2 billion, the outlet notes.
CAF’s stated goal of 500 million households also remains a target, not a measured audience. Richard Dimosi Diasolwa, managing director of MBS, describes what happens when the tournament reaches every home: streets empty, living rooms fill up and entire nations watch together.
A calendar still open
AFCON Pamoja 2027 will be the first edition held in East Africa since the one hosted by Ethiopia in 1976. The appointment of national broadcasters is due in the coming months.
Other matters remain pending for CAF. A separate tender for the global rights for 2028, 2032 and 2036 is under way, and the governing body must vote on whether AFCON moves to a four-year cycle or keeps its current two-year frequency.