SuperSport is apparently unlikely to broadcast the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) starting in Ivory Coast on January 13.
A holding statement, purportedly from SuperSport and under the letterhead of MultiChoice, was widely shared on social media, stating the pay channel will not televise the tournament.
The statement, if it is real, may have been leaked before the channel could release it.
“SuperSport will not broadcast the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 scheduled for January 13 to February 11 2024 because the channel has not secured the rights to broadcast the tournament,” read part of the statement.
Attempts to obtain comment from SuperSport communications manager Sibusiso Mjikeliso to verify the authenticity of the letter were unsuccessful as he did not answer his cellphone on Wednesday afternoon.
Silence from SuperSport points to a situation where a “holding statement” may have been leaked and caught them flat-footed.
If correct, this may possibly see the SABC showing all or most of the games during the tournament in which there is huge interest in South Africa.
In November SuperSport declined to confirm or deny an allegation it was not televising Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers because it wants to focus on European football.
At the time, TimesLIVE reported sources close to SuperSport indicated it was not just the African World Cup qualifiers, Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup the channel had not secured rights for, but also that Afcon was under threat of not being televised by the MultiChoice channel.
Bafana open their Afcon group E campaign against Mali at Stade Amadou Gon Coulibaly in Korhogo on January 16 (10pm SA time), then meet Namibia on January 21 and Tunisia on January 24.
Source Hararelive
