The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has received a letter from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) canceling the monopoly of beIN SPORTS channels for the matches and competitions of the Asian continent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The cancelation was based on AFC's reception of correspondence and legal reasons explaining the illegality of broadcast by beIN SPORTS in the kingdom for the serious legal and systemic violations committed by it and its inability to obtain the necessary licenses to fulfill its obligations to broadcast the AFC competitions to followers and viewers in the Kingdom. Accordingly, a decision was taken to cancel the monopoly of all AFC competitions by beIN SPORTS channels. These matches will be broadcast in the kingdom through the AFC platforms gradually starting from the Saudi Al Hilal and Qatari Al-Dahil match to be held on Tuesday evening as an initial step in which the kingdom will provide the accompanying broadcast crew of commentators and analysts, and work has begun on the necessary technical arrangements. As the Saudi Arabian Football Federation declares this fair decision by the AFC, it calls upon all international federations to take similar measures and decisions that contribute to maintaining the dissemination of the game and providing it to its followers away from its use for political purposes not related to sport. In particular, it hopes that similar action will be taken by sister Arab federations to ensure real sport which is in line with all customs, laws and principles of competition and anti-monopoly, with the emphasis by the Saudi Federation on its keenness to work with rights holders and official bodies to provide legal platforms to enable Saudi viewers and expatriates to enjoy sports competitions away from all distortions, and we wish success for all.
