Global sports and entertainment platform beIN Media Group has acquired the broadcasting rights to South America’s biggest football clashes.

For at least the next three years, beIN viewers from across 24 countries in the MENA region will be able to enjoy matches from the CONMEBOL Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and CONMEBOL Recopa leagues, live on the media’s flagship beIN SPORTS channel network.

Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA, commented: “It is impossible to speak about South America without speaking about football and impossible to speak about football without speaking about South America.

“The continent is renowned worldwide for producing some of the best football, the most exciting players, and incredibly passionate fans, all of which will now be accessible to beIN subscribers. 

“CONMEBOL’s three most prestigious club competitions represent fantastic additions to beIN’s vast football portfolio and further cement beIN’s place as the home of sports.”

In terms of viewership interest, Copa Libertadores is considered by many to be the Champions League of South American football. This year’s competition will see 47 clubs from 10 countries battling it out to become the continent’s undisputed football champion. 

The winner is not only given a prize pool of up to US $28m but is also automatically enrolled into the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup tournament. Its latest edition saw last year’s Copa Libertadores winner Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro travel to Morocco last week to face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in an eventful semi-final that ended in the Brazilian side going home after a 2-3 defeat. 

Copa Sudamericana on the other hand acts as the second biggest club tournament in South America, boasting 44 sides from the 10 CONMEBOL member associations. 

And finally, the Recopa Sudamericana pits the winners from each of the above competitions against each other in a two-legged playoff. This year’s event will see Flamengo try to take the victory away from Independiente del Valle on February 21 at Estadio Banco Guayaquil in Quito before both sides meet again a week later at Rio’s Estadio Maracanã on February 28.

Besides the newly-acquired rights for the MENA region, all of CONMEBOL’s competitions can also be watched on the beIN network in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as part of a pre-existing deal between the Qatari media giant and the South American football body. 

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