The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded broadcasting rights to French-based SportFive to produce the TV coverage for next year’s U-20 African Youth championship due for January 18-February 1 in Kigali.

CAF Executive Committee member Slim Aloulou said recently that the continental body concluded an agreement for the production of the competition.

As part of the agreement, SportFive was handed rights of the MTN Africa Cup of Nations finals, the MTN CAF Champions League, the African Confederation Cup and the African Youth Championship until 2016.

"CAF wants SportFive to broadcast the tournament and they will talk with the respective bodies to see how possible it will for all the fixtures to broadcast live,” Aloulou said.

However, the official failed to discuss the details of the terms of the deal for next year’s U-20 African youth championship.

The deal which was renewed seven years ago extends SportFive to hold on African football’s rights to more than 20 years, starting with the 1994 Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.

CAF claimed a worldwide TV audience of 4.2 billion for their Nations Cup tournaments in Egypt in 2006. Over 4 billion was claimed in CAN Ghana 2008 this year. The next event is the African youth championship in Rwanda.

The Head of International Production, Gary Lovejoy said that "We hope to work with the media in the audiovisual production of the competition in Rwanda next year,”

"We will control our production chain right from capturing the image right up to the programmes going on air live, magazines, highlights, news access,”

SportFive also holds the exclusive marketing and media rights, as an agent of CAF from 2009 to 2016.

This agreement includes the following competitions: Africa Cup of the Nations 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, CAF Champions’ League from 2009 to 2016, Confederation Cup from 2008 to 2016, and African Youth Championship 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

SportFive has marketed the Africa Cup of Nations media rights since 1994 as well as its marketing rights since 2004.

SportFive s also the commercial partner for national team competitions outside Europe, with the TV rights for the bi-annual Africa Cup of Nations (held by the African Football Confederation CAF) in the hands of SportFive as well as Africa’s most prestigious club competition, the CAF Champions League.

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