The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has announced that it has acquired rights to broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2022 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
This is great news for soccer fans in South Africa who may not be able to afford expensive pay TV services.
SABC to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2022
“The acquisition of FIFA’s flagship tournaments is a testament to the SABC’s commitment to continuously fulfil its public service mandate by providing access to sports of national interest to South African citizens,” the public broadcaster said in a statement on Friday.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to take place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, while the Women’s World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August 2023.
For the men’s tournament, the SABC Sport Channel will be the primary broadcast platform for the live presentation of the matches. SABC 1, SABC 2 and SABC 3 will also broadcast the games live simultaneously.
Furthermore, soccer fans will also be able to enjoy the live action from Qatar in the language of their choice on SABC radio stations.
‘Strategic decision’
“The acquisition of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has always been a strategic decision for the SABC. The FIFA World Cup creates various marketing opportunities for SABC Sport and other SABC sub-brands, and we will optimally use this event to create a sense of euphoria for South Africans everywhere,” SABC’s Group Chief Executive Officer Madoda Mxakwe said.
“We are committed to ensuring that we provide our audiences with renewed sense of excitement and provide the matches to the audiences with no-barrier to entry through television, radio and digital broadcast.”
All the matches will feature a live studio build-up where SABC Sport anchors and analysts will present match previews as well as latest team and player news,” the broadcaster said. This will happen on both TV and radio platforms.
Additionally, fans will be able to catch all the latest news, score updates, log table, streaming services and live match commentary on SABC Sport‘s digital (online) platforms.
FIFA World Cup 2022 fixtures
As is usually the case, a total of 64 games will be played at the FIFA World Cup 2022, with all the fixtures available on the FIFA website as a downloadable PDF schedule.
Hosts Qatar will square off with Ecuador in the first match on 30 November.