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Mumbai, Aug 18 (Ians) Indian football fans can celebrate as Sony Sports Network was named official broadcaster of Roshn Saudi Pro League the country and Sony Liv as streaming partner.

For the next two seasons of the league, the broadcaster will live telecast the best matches featuring some of the best football players from across the world.

Roshn Saudi Pro League had onboarded Cristiano Ronaldo last season, and now joining the football legend are Neymar, Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and more.

In addition to the league, the Kings Cup and Saudi Super Cup will be telecast starting from the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively for both seasons.

–Ians

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Updated, 8:15 Am: Img has locked a series of international broadcast deals for the Saudi Pro League’s (Spl) 2023/24 season.

The confirmed deals span over 130 territories, including what has been described as a “landmark deal” with Dazn in multiple territories as well as Sport TV (Portugal), La 7 (Italy), Marca.com (Spain), and Canal+ (France). Starting from this season, Img will also produce the live world feed, including graphics and English commentary.

The full list of broadcast deals set for the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League are: A1 Bulgaria / Max Sport (Bulgaria), Canal+ (France & French overseas territories), Cosmote (Greece), Dazn, La 7 (Italy), Marca.com (Spain), Prima Sports (Romania), Setanta, Sport TV (Portugal), and Supersport (Albania & Kosovo).

Outside of Europe, rights were picked up by Sony/culver (Indian Sub-continent), Azteca (Central America & Mexico), Spo TV, Sporty TV (Nigeria & Ghana), Azam (East Africa), Band Group (Brazil), Bilibili (China), Goat (Brazil), Kball (China), Migu (China), Network Ten (Australia), StartTimes (Sub-Saharan Africa incl. South Africa), Tencent (China), Zap (Angola & Mozambique), and Zhibo8 (China).

“These agreements come at a time of genuine growth for Saudi Arabian football, with growing interest in the Roshn Saudi league from football fans all around the world,” said Saad Allazeez, Saudi Pro League interim CEO. “The watching world can now enjoy front-row seats as Saudi football transforms, and thanks to the Saudi Pro League strategy, football fans around the world will be able to watch promising young talent from the Kingdom competing and playing with some of the biggest names in world football.”

Previously, 4:23 Am: French pay-tv giant Canal+ has acquired French and African rights for the Saudi Pro League for the coming two seasons.

The announcement for the deal late Tuesday came just days ahead of the kick-off for the 2023-24 season on Friday (August 11), which will feature 18 clubs and run until May 2024.

Canal+ will air two matches a week while highlights will also be featured in its wider sports programs such as Canal Football Club.

The accord comes amid growing buzz around the Saudi soccer league following a flurry of high-profile international signings topped by Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Riyadh-based Al Nassr at the end of 2022.

Img, which was brought into sell international rights for the remainder of the 2022-23 season following Ronaldo’s arrival, is also handling deals for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 season.

The new French deal marks a step up from an agreement struck with Altice France’s Rmc Sport channel midway through the 2022-23 season for select matches featuring Ronaldo.

The Saudi Pro League’s upcoming season is likely to spark particularly strong interest in France thanks to the raft of French players in its ranks.

Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kanté are with current champions Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad.

French-Ivorian player Seko Fofana, who has played for both national teams, and Senegal’s Sadio Mané play alongside Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

Other players in the league with a strong French following include Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Serbia’s Sergej Milinković-Savić and Portugal’s Ruben Neves, who all play for Riyadh-based Al Hilal.

The latter club is reported to have courted Psg’s Kylian Mbappé earlier this summer, but without success for now, while there were reports this week that teammate Neymar could be mulling a move to the club.

“We are very happy to be able to offer this brand new football championship exclusively for Canal+ subscribers,” commented Canal+ Director Of Sports Thomas Sénécal.

The Canal+ soccer offering also includes the UEFA Champions League, the UK’s Premier League, the D1 Arkema French women’s football league and France’s Ligue 1.

New Delhi, July 27 (Ians) Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has posted a goodbye video on social media, confirming his exit from the Premier League club after a 12-year stay.

The midfielder joined the Reds from Sunderland in a deal worth 20m pounds in June 2011 and made 492 appearances for the club, scoring 33 goals and registering 57 assists.

The 33-year-old has reportedly agreed a deal with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, who are managed by ex-Liverpool captain and his former teammate Steven Gerrard.

Writing on Instagram, Henderson said: “It’s hard to put these last 12 years into words and it’s even harder to say goodbye. I will always be a Red. Until the day I die. Thank you for everything. You’ll never walk alone.”

Henderson made 360 top-flight appearances for Liverpool and captained them for nearly nine years, from September 2014. He led them to the 2019/20 title as the Reds lifted their first Premier League Trophy.

The Riyadh-based soccer team Al-Hilal has submitted a world-record $330m (€300m) bid to French side Paris Saint-Germain (Psg) for Kylian Mbappé, one of global soccer’s most dominant young stars.

Paris Saint-Germain have given Al-Hilal permission to speak with Mbappe about personal terms. There have currently been no talks between the player and the club, according to reports in Europe. However, soccer insider James Benge of CBS Sports reports that the Saudi club is ready to offer Mbappé a salary package of $770m (€700m) over one year. After the year is up, Mbappé, who is 24 years old, would be free to join Spanish giants Real Madrid on a free deal.

The French forward has been continuously linked with a move to Madrid and was benched from Psg’s pre-season tour in Japan last week after the club said it was convinced the player had agreed an unofficial deal to join...

London, June 21 (Ians) Chelsea and France midfielder N’Golo Kante to join Saudi Arabia champions Al Ittihad on a three-year deal.

The 32-year-old Kante has struggled with injuries and made nine appearances for Chelsea during the 2022-23 campaign. His contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of June.

He will join Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad after his fellow Frenchman left Real Madrid and agreed a three-year deal with them this month.

“Chelsea today says goodbye to club legend N’Golo Kante, with the midfielder to join Saudi Professional League side Al-Ittihad at the expiration of his contract,” Chelsea Fc said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kante leaves Chelsea after seven years at Stamford Bridge. He won the Champions League, Premier League, Europa League and Fa Cup during his time with the club.

The midfielder also played a key role as France won the World Cup in 2018.

Chelsea Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart...

Doha (Qatar) Nov 27 (Ians) France coach Didier Deschamps expressed his satisfaction after two goals from Kylian Mbappe gave his side a 2-1 win over Denmark on Saturday to book the defending champions’ place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Mbappe scored both of France’s goals, in the 61st and 86th minute, to beat a combative Danish side and to become the second player to score seven World Cup goals before their 24th birthday after Brazilian legend Pele, reports Xinhua.

“Kylian is an exceptional player, he can be decisive, stand out and make a difference. Rivals have to rethink when they face him, but we have other players who support him and free him up when he plays”.

“He (Mbappe) is a great player, but he is part of an exception team. I have a great pool of players and I am very lucky to be able to count on the squad.

Doha (Qatar), Nov 25 (Ians) France striker Olivier Giroud is likely to be the centre of attention when France face Denmark in a Group D match on Saturday looking to book their passage into the tournament’s last 16.

Giroud now has 51 goals for his country and another will see him overtake Thierry Henry as France’s all-time top scorer.

The big striker scored twice as France kicked off their World Cup title defense with a comfortable 4-1 win against Australia, becoming the first reigning champions to begin the following tournament with a win since Brazil in 2006.

That win, coupled with the 0-0 draw between Denmark and Tunisia, means another French triumph in Stadium 974 will see them into the next round.

The Australia game saw another addition to France’s long injury list, with Lucas Hernandez suffering a season-ending cruciate ligament injury in the opening minutes.

Lucas joins an injury list containing Karim Benzema,...

Doha (Qatar), Nov 23 (Ians) A brace by Olivier Giroud and a goal each by Adrien Rabiot, and Kylian Mbappe helped defending champions France to carve out an emphatic 4-1 win over Australia in their Group D match at Janoub Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The World Cup holders bounced back from early scare when Craig Goodwin gave Socceroos shock lead in the 9th minute but goals by Rabiot (27th minute), Giroud (32nd and 74th) and Mbappe (68) paved the way for full points for manager Didier Deschamps side.

France next face Denmark on November 26, who earlier in the day shared points with Tunisia in a goalless draw at Education City Stadium and wind up their group engagements against Tunisia on November 30.

Australia on the other hand take on Tunisia in the next round match on November 26 and end their group fixtures with a match against Denmark four days later.

The two teams...

Doha, Nov 20 (Ians) France national team coach Didier Deschamps has expressed his sympathy for veteran striker Karim Benzema, who has been forced out of the World Cup after tearing a muscle in his left thigh on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Ballon D’Or winner, who didn’t form part of the triumphant French squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, flew back to Madrid on Sunday morning after a scan confirmed the extent of the injury, meaning his last chance of playing in the finals has now vanished, reports Xinhua.

“I am extremely sad for Karim who had made this World Cup a major objective,” said Deschamps, who tried to remain upbeat.

“Despite this new blow for the French team, I have full confidence in my group. We will do everything to meet the huge challenge that awaits us,” he said.

France has been hit badly by injuries in the run-up to Qatar,...

Doha, Nov 20 (Ians) Karim Benzema will probably miss France’s first game of the World Cup against Australia and is in danger of pulling out of the entire tournament after suffering a leg injury in Saturday’s training, according to the French and Spanish sporting press.

The 34-year-old, who travelled to Qatar after missing five of Real Madrid’s last six games before the World Cup due to a niggling muscle injury, had a problem in his left leg, which is different to the issue that troubled him over the last month.

French sports newspaper L’Equipe and the Spanish newspapers, Diario As and El Mundo Deportivo, are now reporting that Benzema will certainly miss his side’s opening match on Tuesday and could be forced out of the entire tournament, reports Xinhua.

This year’s Ballon D’Or winner apparently suffered the injury as he took part in a...

Doha, Nov 19 (Ians) It could well be a history-defining FIFA World Cup for France as Didier Deschamps and his boys aim to become only the third country ever to win successive FIFA World Cup titles after Italy and Brazil.

Being the defending champions, there will be a lot of hope from France who will be making their 16th appearance in the World Cup, a competition they have won in 1998, 2018. Barring Denmark, there is little to suggest they would be troubled much by the likes of Australia and Tunisia — the other teams in Group D — as they seek a knockout berth.

As the French national team looks to defend its title, there’ll be a bit of similarity as the group they are in is weirdly familiar to the one they won in Russia in 2018.

They have Australia and Denmark again, with Tunisia replacing Peru this time around. The Danes, though,...

Paris, Nov 16 (Ians) Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani has been called up by the French team for the Qatar World Cup on Wednesday, following the unexpected knee injury of Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku a day before.

“The FIFA Medical Committee has endorsed the withdrawal of Christopher Nkunku due to injury,” the French Football Federation (Fff) said in a statement. “The national coach has decided to call on Randal Kolo Muani.”

The 25-year-old Nkunku injured his left knee during training on Tuesday when he collided with Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

Nkunku is the latest on a list of high-profile absentees for defending champions France, which includes midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante and defender Presnel Kimpembe, reports Xinhua.

The lethal striker has scored 12 goals in 15 appearances for Leipzig in Bundesliga this season, sitting at the top of the league scorer list.

The 23-year-old Kolo Muani is currently in Japan with his Frankfurt club,...