SPECIAL
By Goal.com Africa
European football is followed very passionately on the African continent, from Libya right down to South Africa. Most of Africa's stars play in that part of the world, providing grounds for their adoration on the old continent, where fans can cheer on their local heroes in a setting which is often more competitive than the top flight competitions at home.
There are more than a thousand Africans playing for European clubs. Accordingly, local fans are forced to rely heavily on television coverage in order to follow the performances of their countrymen.
The popularity of a particular competition differs from one country to the other. Colonial ties sometimes play a major role in the popularity of certain leagues, while for others it is simply the love of good football or certain clubs which drive the craving for European action.
Angolans have a special interest in the Portuguese League because they were once colonised by the country, while the majority of Kenyan people are ecstatic whenever the English Premier League (EPL) is broadcast for that same reason.
The obsession of African fans with European football has progressed to the point of damaging many of the local domestic championships. Many are willing to spend money and a fair amount of time in front of television sets watching their European favourites rather than sitting under the scorching sun at a national stadium, cheering on a local outfit.
Conversely, others are merely ardent followers of world class superstars such as Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.
However, in north Africa they seem to have struck a balance between support for the local leagues and their love for the European equivalent. This could be due to the fact that most of their national team members play in their own countries. Irrespective of which side of the coin one is considering, African fans are generally ardent followers of European football, with the EPL commanding a special focus.
The east Africans are die-hard supporters of the EPL. Their weekends are not complete without watching a game or two of the English top flight. Kenyans are usually spotted in replica jerseys of their Premier League teams and fill sports bars in drones, wearing their love for the English game on their sleeves, literally.
Not all the EPL clubs have a great following in Kenya, but the 'Big Four' – Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool - have unbelievably large and proud fanbases throughout the country.
Last year, a survey by Consumer Insight Africa, a market research firm, revealed that Arsenal are the most popular foreign club, followed by Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Besides the EPL, pay TV channels like SuperSport, the leading Pay-TV operator in Sub-Saharan Africa and the broadcast rights owners of the Uefa Champions League, Super Cup and Europa League for the 2010/11–2014/15 seasons, show the Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. Selected Bundesliga games are also broadcast free every weekend by a local private TV channel.
The Champions League receives the widest coverage in Kenya, as all the matches are
shown on SuperSport, while Kiss TV, a private free-to-air station, and KBC, the national broadcaster, only show one game per matchday - mostly fixtures involving an EPL team, and in cases where none of the English clubs are playing, they broadcast a game involving one of the top European sides.
According to Goal.com’s M.J. Somoni, the EPL surpasses all European leagues in Kenya. “Many Kenyans troop to bars, hotels, restaurants and video halls while others have subscribed to watch the matches at home. In recent times, the local league has started generating interest, especially matches involving community-based clubs, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards,” he stated.
Somalia
Watching European football is considered 'haram' (forbidden) in the Horn of Africa country. However, the youth are prepared to die for the game. They hide and lower the television volume to be part of the half a billion in over 202 countries worldwide following their favourite clubs in the EPL. Arsenal is the team of choice in this politically-unstable country.
Nigeria
The EPL is by far the most popular European league in Nigeria, closely followed by Spain's La Liga, explains Goal.com’s Nigerian correspondent Lolade Adewuyi.
"Other leagues that receive coverage in Nigeria are the Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga. You do not miss the chance to watch your favourite European leagues as well as the Champions League on DSTV, HiTV, AIT, LTV, Galazy TV and NTA."
CR7 on the streets of Lagos | Nigerians love the English Premier League
Adewuyi also points out that the domestic league is not as popular as the European versions. “Most people can predict the lineup of the big English and Spanish clubs, but don't even know the time schedule of their local league games,” he added.
Tunisia
Our North African correspondent Rami Ayari reports that the situation is different in Tunisia. “The most popular European league at the moment in Tunisia is La Liga because there are many Tunisians who like either Barcelona or Real Madrid,” he revealed.
“It's somewhat rare to find someone who likes a team other than them in La Liga and the fact that two of the most popular and skilful Golden Ball winners in Messi and Ronaldo are playing on either side makes the matchup even more enticing.”
The EPL comes second to the Spanish top flight in terms of popularity in Tunisia, followed by the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Eredevisie. “Tunisians often use internet streams to catch Swiss Axpo League matches as well, considering that there are a number of Tunisians playing in Switzerland at the moment including Yassine Chikhaoui, Ammar Jemal, Chaker Zouaghi, Amine Chermiti and Mohammed Ali Nafkha,” he added.
An investigation into which football is shown in north Africa revealed that Al Jazeera has European football well covered. The Uefa Champions League and other European championships are broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports +1 (Serie A), Al Jazeera Sports +2 (La Liga), Al Jazeera Sports +3 (EPL), Al Jazeera Sports +4 (Ligue 1), Al Jazeera Sport +5 (English FA Cup and Carling Cup), Al Jazeera Sports +6 (Eredivisie).
Unlike the Sub-Saharan African nations, Ayari stated that Tunisians virtually grow up with their umbilical cords attached to one of the domestic teams, making it difficult for European football to dominate outright.
African fans on the streets | Supporters parade with a Barcelona banner
“Every football fan in Tunisia has a local club they grew up liking, whether it’s a team from their town or city, or one of the big four (Club Africain, Esperance, Etoile du Sahel, Club Sportif Sfaxien) because they are more successful.
“It used to be that entire families liked the same team, but now, more and more, especially in the capital, you find brothers who disagree on their affiliations, and fathers and their sons as well. Tunisians love going to the stadium to watch live football, but when there are no games then all eyes turn to Europe as we each have a favourite team in each of the big leagues.
"Furthermore, many Tunisians have family living in Europe and thus start to feel an affiliation with foreign cities. Paris and Marseille are good examples of this,” he added.
However, in an April 2011 report released by a sports marketing group, YouGov Siraj/SMG Insight, over a quarter of the respondents in the Middle East and north Africa [Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia] chose a football league from their home country (27%) as the most popular football event that they follow besides the World Cup.
The Spanish La Liga (26%) and Uefa Champions League (25%) were also cited as regularly-followed football competitions. Less popular were the English Premier League (16%), Arab Champions League (14%) and Uefa Europa League (13%).
According to the report, out of those respondents [2586] who regularly followed the English Premier League, the majority followed Manchester United (73%) followed closely by Arsenal (65%) and Chelsea (61%).
Other English Premier League teams followed by Middle Eastern and north African respondents include Liverpool (39%) and Manchester City (26%). The report revealed that 18-24 year old participants, however, favoured Arsenal over Manchester United, with the majority (72%) supporting the Gunners.
Ghana
The World Cup quarter-finalists possess an embarrassment of riches when considering the talents representing the Black Stars in Europe. Their top players are in England, Italy, France and Spain, and as a result the interest of the Ghanaian people is directed at those countries.
“The EPL is obviously the most followed here,” Goal.com Ghana correspondent Kent Mensah said. “Don't be surprised to meet a local who can give you a roll-call of all the players in a given team in the EPL, including benchers, but can't give you five in one of the domestic leagues down here.”
Serie A and La Liga may be competing for a second spot, but Ligue 1 has recently gained a great deal of recognition due to the fact that Marseille's Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew and his brother Jordan are making waves in France.
“Locals mostly talk about the domestic league when it involves the two main bitter rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. The EPL dominates sport talk among local folks. They can tell you who scored a particular type of goal in what season and who is leading which particular league in Europe i.e EPL, Serie A, La Liga.
"Mind you, Ghanaians are more interested in such leagues because that is where most of their foreign-based icons are,” Mensah opined, considering the presence of players such as Kevin-Prince Boateng and Kwadwo Asamoah in Italy, as well as John Mensah in England.
In Ghana, selected Champions League matches are shown live on ViaSat1 and MultiTV, while SuperSport broadcasts a number of games per matchday. For highlights of the EPL and other top European leagues, Ghanaians tune in to Metro TV, GTV and GTV Sports+, DSTV, MultiTV, TV Africa, TV3 and Smart TV. There are clearly many options to consider, and the market for European football is huge.
South Africa
Clyde Tlou, Goal.com’s South African correspondent says that fans in the country are obsessed with European football, with the EPL coming first in the hearts of most South Africans.
Even for Champions League fixtures, Tlou noted, pay TV SuperSport and free-to-air channel Etv give preference to English teams. He believes European football will continue to run ahead of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) among local fans. “Some even go to the extent of going to a bar to watch the EPL if they don't have DSTV because the public broadcaster (SABC) only shows local soccer,” he concluded.
Goal.com's African Editor Peter Pedroncelli believes that the PSL is on the rise among South African supporters, as the quality of the league continues to improve, but the EPL will be the number one for some time to come.
"The English Premier League is extremely popular in the country, with many fans flocking to bars and restaurants to follow their sides in action, if they are unable to watch at home on SuperSport. The PSL is still popular, and with matches broadcast on SuperSport and (free-to-air) SABC, it is more easily accessible to the masses," he revealed.
Satellite company DSTV provides coverage of EPL matches through SuperSport, which broadcasts around five or six Premier League games on matchdays. The bouquet of channels also owns the rights to La Liga and Serie A matches and highlights, while the German Bundesliga and Eredivisie are also part of their coverage.
SuperSport recently announced that it had secured broadcast rights for the Uefa Champions League, Super Cup and Europa League for the 2012-13 to 2014-15 seasons. The rights have been secured in the entire territory of Sub-Saharan Africa and the adjacent islands, which includes South Africa and Nigeria.
The terms of the rights make provisions so that SuperSport viewers can continue to enjoy 145 Champions League matches, the Super Cup and 205 Europa League matches per season.
“The 2010 Fifa World Cup demonstrated Africans’ immense appetite for world-class football and the Champions League falls into that category,” remarked Imtiaz Patel, Group CEO of MultiChoice SA [owners of DSTV and SuperSport] in a statement.
The picture below is worth more than the customary 1000 words with regards to the argument of local versus European leagues, as a South African boy and the man behind him wear Manchester United and Liverpool shirts respectively, as they watch a PSL game at a Durban Stadium.
Manchester United supporter | Showing his colours at a PSL game
Football-mad Africa will continue to crave and enjoy football from the top European leagues through to the local championships, where some of their stars lead the way by staying at home to find glory in a more familiar setting.
The allure of Europe and Champions League football may still be too much to turn down for some time to come, but African fans sitting in front of television sets are not complaining.
By Goal.com Africa
European football is followed very passionately on the African continent, from Libya right down to South Africa. Most of Africa's stars play in that part of the world, providing grounds for their adoration on the old continent, where fans can cheer on their local heroes in a setting which is often more competitive than the top flight competitions at home.
There are more than a thousand Africans playing for European clubs. Accordingly, local fans are forced to rely heavily on television coverage in order to follow the performances of their countrymen.
The popularity of a particular competition differs from one country to the other. Colonial ties sometimes play a major role in the popularity of certain leagues, while for others it is simply the love of good football or certain clubs which drive the craving for European action.
Angolans have a special interest in the Portuguese League because they were once colonised by the country, while the majority of Kenyan people are ecstatic whenever the English Premier League (EPL) is broadcast for that same reason.
The obsession of African fans with European football has progressed to the point of damaging many of the local domestic championships. Many are willing to spend money and a fair amount of time in front of television sets watching their European favourites rather than sitting under the scorching sun at a national stadium, cheering on a local outfit.
Conversely, others are merely ardent followers of world class superstars such as Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney.
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Lionel Messi | Wayne Rooney |
Kenya
The east Africans are die-hard supporters of the EPL. Their weekends are not complete without watching a game or two of the English top flight. Kenyans are usually spotted in replica jerseys of their Premier League teams and fill sports bars in drones, wearing their love for the English game on their sleeves, literally.
| Kenya's favourite EPL clubs | ||||||||
| 1) Arsenal | ||||||||
| 2) Man United | ||||||||
| 3) Chelsea | ||||||||
Last year, a survey by Consumer Insight Africa, a market research firm, revealed that Arsenal are the most popular foreign club, followed by Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Besides the EPL, pay TV channels like SuperSport, the leading Pay-TV operator in Sub-Saharan Africa and the broadcast rights owners of the Uefa Champions League, Super Cup and Europa League for the 2010/11–2014/15 seasons, show the Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. Selected Bundesliga games are also broadcast free every weekend by a local private TV channel.
The Champions League receives the widest coverage in Kenya, as all the matches are
 - Rami Ayari |
According to Goal.com’s M.J. Somoni, the EPL surpasses all European leagues in Kenya. “Many Kenyans troop to bars, hotels, restaurants and video halls while others have subscribed to watch the matches at home. In recent times, the local league has started generating interest, especially matches involving community-based clubs, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards,” he stated.
Somalia
Watching European football is considered 'haram' (forbidden) in the Horn of Africa country. However, the youth are prepared to die for the game. They hide and lower the television volume to be part of the half a billion in over 202 countries worldwide following their favourite clubs in the EPL. Arsenal is the team of choice in this politically-unstable country.
Nigeria
The EPL is by far the most popular European league in Nigeria, closely followed by Spain's La Liga, explains Goal.com’s Nigerian correspondent Lolade Adewuyi.
"Other leagues that receive coverage in Nigeria are the Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga. You do not miss the chance to watch your favourite European leagues as well as the Champions League on DSTV, HiTV, AIT, LTV, Galazy TV and NTA."
CR7 on the streets of Lagos | Nigerians love the English Premier League
Adewuyi also points out that the domestic league is not as popular as the European versions. “Most people can predict the lineup of the big English and Spanish clubs, but don't even know the time schedule of their local league games,” he added.Tunisia
Our North African correspondent Rami Ayari reports that the situation is different in Tunisia. “The most popular European league at the moment in Tunisia is La Liga because there are many Tunisians who like either Barcelona or Real Madrid,” he revealed.
“It's somewhat rare to find someone who likes a team other than them in La Liga and the fact that two of the most popular and skilful Golden Ball winners in Messi and Ronaldo are playing on either side makes the matchup even more enticing.”
The EPL comes second to the Spanish top flight in terms of popularity in Tunisia, followed by the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Eredevisie. “Tunisians often use internet streams to catch Swiss Axpo League matches as well, considering that there are a number of Tunisians playing in Switzerland at the moment including Yassine Chikhaoui, Ammar Jemal, Chaker Zouaghi, Amine Chermiti and Mohammed Ali Nafkha,” he added.
An investigation into which football is shown in north Africa revealed that Al Jazeera has European football well covered. The Uefa Champions League and other European championships are broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports +1 (Serie A), Al Jazeera Sports +2 (La Liga), Al Jazeera Sports +3 (EPL), Al Jazeera Sports +4 (Ligue 1), Al Jazeera Sport +5 (English FA Cup and Carling Cup), Al Jazeera Sports +6 (Eredivisie).
Unlike the Sub-Saharan African nations, Ayari stated that Tunisians virtually grow up with their umbilical cords attached to one of the domestic teams, making it difficult for European football to dominate outright.
African fans on the streets | Supporters parade with a Barcelona banner“Every football fan in Tunisia has a local club they grew up liking, whether it’s a team from their town or city, or one of the big four (Club Africain, Esperance, Etoile du Sahel, Club Sportif Sfaxien) because they are more successful.
“It used to be that entire families liked the same team, but now, more and more, especially in the capital, you find brothers who disagree on their affiliations, and fathers and their sons as well. Tunisians love going to the stadium to watch live football, but when there are no games then all eyes turn to Europe as we each have a favourite team in each of the big leagues.
"Furthermore, many Tunisians have family living in Europe and thus start to feel an affiliation with foreign cities. Paris and Marseille are good examples of this,” he added.
However, in an April 2011 report released by a sports marketing group, YouGov Siraj/SMG Insight, over a quarter of the respondents in the Middle East and north Africa [Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia] chose a football league from their home country (27%) as the most popular football event that they follow besides the World Cup.
The Spanish La Liga (26%) and Uefa Champions League (25%) were also cited as regularly-followed football competitions. Less popular were the English Premier League (16%), Arab Champions League (14%) and Uefa Europa League (13%).
According to the report, out of those respondents [2586] who regularly followed the English Premier League, the majority followed Manchester United (73%) followed closely by Arsenal (65%) and Chelsea (61%).
Other English Premier League teams followed by Middle Eastern and north African respondents include Liverpool (39%) and Manchester City (26%). The report revealed that 18-24 year old participants, however, favoured Arsenal over Manchester United, with the majority (72%) supporting the Gunners.
| Best-supported English Premier League football teams in north Africa |
| Team | North Africa | |
| Manchester United | 73% | |
| Arsenal | 65% | |
| Chelsea | 61% | |
| Liverpool | 39% | |
| Manchester City | 26% | |
| Source: YouGov Siraj/ SMG Insight |
Ghana
The World Cup quarter-finalists possess an embarrassment of riches when considering the talents representing the Black Stars in Europe. Their top players are in England, Italy, France and Spain, and as a result the interest of the Ghanaian people is directed at those countries.
“The EPL is obviously the most followed here,” Goal.com Ghana correspondent Kent Mensah said. “Don't be surprised to meet a local who can give you a roll-call of all the players in a given team in the EPL, including benchers, but can't give you five in one of the domestic leagues down here.”
Serie A and La Liga may be competing for a second spot, but Ligue 1 has recently gained a great deal of recognition due to the fact that Marseille's Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew and his brother Jordan are making waves in France.
“Locals mostly talk about the domestic league when it involves the two main bitter rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko. The EPL dominates sport talk among local folks. They can tell you who scored a particular type of goal in what season and who is leading which particular league in Europe i.e EPL, Serie A, La Liga."Mind you, Ghanaians are more interested in such leagues because that is where most of their foreign-based icons are,” Mensah opined, considering the presence of players such as Kevin-Prince Boateng and Kwadwo Asamoah in Italy, as well as John Mensah in England.
In Ghana, selected Champions League matches are shown live on ViaSat1 and MultiTV, while SuperSport broadcasts a number of games per matchday. For highlights of the EPL and other top European leagues, Ghanaians tune in to Metro TV, GTV and GTV Sports+, DSTV, MultiTV, TV Africa, TV3 and Smart TV. There are clearly many options to consider, and the market for European football is huge.
South Africa
Clyde Tlou, Goal.com’s South African correspondent says that fans in the country are obsessed with European football, with the EPL coming first in the hearts of most South Africans.
Even for Champions League fixtures, Tlou noted, pay TV SuperSport and free-to-air channel Etv give preference to English teams. He believes European football will continue to run ahead of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) among local fans. “Some even go to the extent of going to a bar to watch the EPL if they don't have DSTV because the public broadcaster (SABC) only shows local soccer,” he concluded.
Goal.com's African Editor Peter Pedroncelli believes that the PSL is on the rise among South African supporters, as the quality of the league continues to improve, but the EPL will be the number one for some time to come.
"The English Premier League is extremely popular in the country, with many fans flocking to bars and restaurants to follow their sides in action, if they are unable to watch at home on SuperSport. The PSL is still popular, and with matches broadcast on SuperSport and (free-to-air) SABC, it is more easily accessible to the masses," he revealed.
Satellite company DSTV provides coverage of EPL matches through SuperSport, which broadcasts around five or six Premier League games on matchdays. The bouquet of channels also owns the rights to La Liga and Serie A matches and highlights, while the German Bundesliga and Eredivisie are also part of their coverage.
| Uefa Television Broadcast Rights awarded in Africa |
| Area | Sub-Saharan Africa | North Africa |
| Rights Holder | SuperSport International | Al Jazeera Satellite Network |
| Countries | South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Angola, Kenya, Nigeria etc. | Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria etc. |
SuperSport recently announced that it had secured broadcast rights for the Uefa Champions League, Super Cup and Europa League for the 2012-13 to 2014-15 seasons. The rights have been secured in the entire territory of Sub-Saharan Africa and the adjacent islands, which includes South Africa and Nigeria.
The terms of the rights make provisions so that SuperSport viewers can continue to enjoy 145 Champions League matches, the Super Cup and 205 Europa League matches per season.
“The 2010 Fifa World Cup demonstrated Africans’ immense appetite for world-class football and the Champions League falls into that category,” remarked Imtiaz Patel, Group CEO of MultiChoice SA [owners of DSTV and SuperSport] in a statement.
The picture below is worth more than the customary 1000 words with regards to the argument of local versus European leagues, as a South African boy and the man behind him wear Manchester United and Liverpool shirts respectively, as they watch a PSL game at a Durban Stadium.
Manchester United supporter | Showing his colours at a PSL game
Football-mad Africa will continue to crave and enjoy football from the top European leagues through to the local championships, where some of their stars lead the way by staying at home to find glory in a more familiar setting.The allure of Europe and Champions League football may still be too much to turn down for some time to come, but African fans sitting in front of television sets are not complaining.