Asean Football Federation announces nine broadcasters for AFF U23 Championship 2022
The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) announced on Friday that nine broadcasters have acquired the media rights for the upcoming AFF U23 Championship 2022. The nine broadcasters will join host broadcaster Bayon TV in broadcasting all the matches live on their respective channels.
Under deals brokered by SPORTFIVE, the exclusive commercial and media rights partner of the AFF U23 Championship 2022, the nine broadcasters will be broadcasting live football action from all 19 matches in their respective territories as follows:
1. 1. Vietnam: FPT Telecom (FPT Play), Vietnam Television 2. 2. Myanmar and Laos - FPT Telecom (FPT Play)
3. 3. Malaysia – Astro and Media Prima Television Networks
4. 4. Indonesia and Timor Leste – SCTV (Free TV), Champions TV (Pay TV) and Vidio (OTT)
5. 5. Thailand – True Visions
6. 6. Singapore – Football Association of Singapore social media channels
7. 7. Brunei – Radio Television Brunei
The AFF U23 Championship 2022 is hosted by the Football Federation of Cambodia in Phnom Penh from 14 to 26 February 2022 and will see all 11 of the region’s under-23 national teams do battle to claim the coveted title ahead of the South East Asian Games which will be held in Vietnam in May 2022.
The top team of each of the three groups will qualify directly to the semi-finals alongside the best runner-up from the group stage. Winners from the single leg semifinal matches will play off for the title on 26 February 2022 whilst the losing semi-finalists will play off for third & fourth placing.
AFF President Major General Khiev Sameth said that that they are delighted to have on board so many broadcast partners for the AFF U23 Championship 2022.
“This is a testament to the popularity of football in South East Asia and we are grateful for the partnership with each of the broadcasters to help us further promote youth football across the region. The U23 tournament is a very special one for AFF as we believe that the youths are our future and will serve as inspiration to all our fans in these challenging times,” he said.
He added: “We are excited that our fans around South East Asia will be able to watch the best youth football action in the comfort of their homes and cheer on their teams even if they are unable to attend the matches in person.”
Managing Director South East Asia at SPORTFIVE Malcolm Thorpe said: “We are pleased to welcome all nine media partners as the official broadcasters of the AFF U23 Championship 2022. The interest in the event from major broadcast partners clearly demonstrates the attractiveness of youth football in the ASEAN region and the expanded coverage through these broadcast partnerships will enable us to bring football action closer to the fans across all 11 days of the competition.”
Chairman and CEO of FPT Play Pham Thanh Tuan in a statement said that the AFF U23 Championship is the next step of FPT Play in 2022, and it is one of their varied contents of sports.
“We want to bring AFF U23 to football fans in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. We believe that the cooperation between FPT Play and AFF also opens a big opportunity for us in very near future,” he said.
On his part, Dato’ Khairul Anwar Salleh, the Chief Executive Officer of Media Prima Television Networks and Primeworks Studios said that after a few years, sports or more specifically, football is back on TV9.
“We are very happy and excited to broadcast the AFF U23 Championship 2022 which will start on 14 February. At TV9, we want to constantly evolve with time and demand. This effort is so that the football fans and Malaysians can watch all the matches involving our young team. Good luck to Brad Maloney and the young Malaysian team!,” he said.
The tournament will kick off on 14 February at the brand new 60,000 capacity Morodok Techno National Stadium, with host Cambodia taking on Brunei Darussalam follow by Timor Leste against Philippines. All Group A matches will be played at Morodok Techno National Stadium while Group B and C matches will be played at Visakha Stadium. Due to restrictions caused by the pandemic, stadium capacity has been capped at 50% in Cambodia for all matches.