The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has awarded the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) the official FIFA World Cup broadcaster status for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments. The deal also include free- to- air and pay-TV rights for all FIFA events during both periods.
The two tournaments will be respectively held in South Africa and a South American country still to be named.
The SABC and FIFA revealed that they were locked in intense negotiations over the past six months, which took place in Zurich and Johannesburg.
Advocate Dali Mpofu Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) attributed the deal to the SABC team of negotiators.
“I must praise all my team, which also included our Chief Operating Officer (COO), Solly Mokoetle and Group Executive Content Enterprises, Mvuzo Mbebe. I must also thank the FIFA team for tough but very cordial negotiations, especially for agreeing to our idea of a package deal for both 2010 and 2014,” says Mpofu.
“The partnership bodes well for us and is in the best interest of both organisations (SABC and FIFA) and our country. It also supports the SABC’s motto of total citizenship empowerment.
“In line with our policy of co-operative competition with other broadcasters, we would like to assure them that our doors will remain open to consider all reasonable bids for sub-licensing the rights. We have done the same with the 2006 FIFA World Cup rights. We hope to extend this spirit of reciprocal co-operation with our competitors to ensure that everyone benefits from this partnership,” adds Mpofu.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter agrees: “We have no doubt that the SABC will make FIFA proud once again, proving to be the most reliable partner in respect of the beautiful game. Our dream of an African World Cup is now a reality. FIFA, like the SABC, is totally committed to empowering the people of South Africa and the continent in staging what promises to be a spectacular World Cup.”
