beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”) has secured the broadcast rights to South America’s biggest club football competitions, bringing some Latin flavour to its unrivalled football coverage for at least the next four years. The CONMEBOL Libertadores, CONMEBOL Sudamericana, and CONMEBOL Recopa will all be shown live and exclusive on the group’s flagship beIN SPORTS channels from 2023-2026 across 24 countries in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).
The agreement builds on beIN’s longstanding partnership with CONMEBOL who’s competitions are now broadcast in 28 beIN territories worldwide that include the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
“It is impossible to speak about South America without speaking about football and impossible to speak about football without speaking about South America,” said Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA. “The continent is renowned worldwide for producing some of the best football, the most exciting players, and incredibly passionate fans, all of which will now be accessible to beIN subscribers. CONMEBOL’s three most prestigious club competitions represent fantastic additions to beIN’s vast football portfolio and further cement beIN’s place as the home of sports.”
The 2023 edition of the Copa Libertadores, often regarded as the Champions League of South America, started this week and will see 47 clubs from 10 countries compete for the continent’s greatest footballing prize. Teams from Argentina have historically dominated the 63-year-old competition, with Club Atlético Independiente holding a record seven titles, followed close behind by Boca Juniors on six. Yet five of the previous six editions have been won by Brazilian clubs.
Victory in the Libertadores provides the winner not only continental bragging rights and prize money of up to US$28 million, but also a coveted place in the FIFA Club World Cup. Reigning South American champions Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro arrived in Morocco this month hoping to become the first non-European team since 2012 to be crowed World Champions but suffered a surprise – and historic – semi-final defeat to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Founded in 2002, the Copa Sudamericana meanwhile is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American football, featuring 44 teams from across CONMEBOL’s 10 member associations. With no hegemony yet established, Independiente del Valle of Ecuador became one of four clubs tied for a record two titles when they defeated Brazil’s Sao Paulo in Argentina last October.
The Recopa Sudamericana, billed as the South American Super Cup, pits the winners of the Libertadores against the winners of the Sudamericana. This year’s two-legged playoff between Flamengo and Independiente del Valle is a rerun of the 2020 Recopa won by the Brazilians and will take place on February 21 at Estadio Banco Guayaquil in Quito before the two sides meet again a week later at Rio’s Estadio Maracanã on February 28.
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