Football fans across Sub-Saharan Africa are set to experience a major shake-up in how they watch European club football after CANAL+ secured exclusive rights to broadcast all UEFA men's club competitions across the region from the 2027/28 season through to 2031.
The deal, announced on Wednesday, covers the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, giving CANAL+ exclusive rights in all languages across more than 40 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The agreement means some of Europe's biggest clubs—including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus—will all be available under the new rights arrangement.
However, football fans in English-speaking Africa, including Kenya, are unlikely to see immediate changes to how they access the competitions.
According to CANAL+, SuperSport, which has long held the rights to UEFA club competitions in the region, will continue offering exclusive coverage of the tournaments to its subscribers in English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking African markets.
The announcement comes as CANAL+ moves closer to completing its acquisition of MultiChoice, the parent company of DStv and SuperSport, a deal that would further strengthen its footprint in Africa's pay television market.
In French-speaking Africa, however, the agreement marks the return of full UEFA Champions League coverage on CANAL+ Sport channels. It will also be the first time the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League are broadcast exclusively in French on the platform.
The broadcaster said the new rights package would run for four seasons, beginning in mid-2027 and ending in 2031.
CANAL+ Chief Executive Officer Maxime Saada described the agreement as a major milestone for the broadcaster's sports offering across Africa.
"We are very proud of this new partnership, which gives us exclusive rights to all UEFA Men's Club competitions across more than 40 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa," Saada stated.
"For four seasons, until 2031, our subscribers will enjoy the thrill of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League biggest matches."
Saada added that the acquisition reinforces the company's ambitions in sports broadcasting across the continent.
"Today, CANAL+ offers the most attractive sports line-up across Sub-Saharan Africa, and the acquisition of these rights is a perfect illustration of that," Saada commented.
The announcement is significant for millions of football fans across Africa, where the UEFA Champions League remains one of the continent's most-watched sporting competitions.
While the deal confirms who will control the broadcasting rights from 2027, it leaves several questions unanswered for consumers, including whether subscription packages or pricing will change once the new rights cycle begins.
For now, viewers in Kenya and other English-speaking African countries can expect SuperSport to remain the home of UEFA club football under the new arrangement, although the long-term structure of subscriptions and distribution is likely to become clearer closer to the start of the 2027/28 season.
