Fox Soccer has inked a new four-year agreement with The Confederation of North, Central and Caribbean Association Football giving it exclusive English-language rights to the group's biennial national team tourney and its annual top-level club competition.
The renewal agreement starts with the current CONCACAF Champions League season, continuing through the 2015-2016 edition of the tournament. The deal also covers the 2013 and 2015 Gold Cups, giving Fox Soccer exclusive English-language rights in the United States to both of CONCACAF's showpiece events.
Additionally, FOX Soccer has the option of showcasing all CONCACAF Champions League and Gold Cup matches through its wide array of digital platforms, including FOXSoccer.com and FOXSoccer 2Go. This component of the agreement also allows for on-demand access to all matches and highlights, providing Fox Soccer's fanbase exclusive access to the region's top domestic soccer.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our new agreement with CONCACAF comes at a time when soccer in our region of the world is better than ever, with both gold medal winners from this year's Olympic Games hailing from North America," said Fox Soccer executive vice president and general manager David Nathanson in announcing the righs agreement. "Providing unparalleled access to our region's top competitions adds to Fox Soccer's comprehensive portfolio of premier global properties."
Noted CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb: "We are extremely proud to continue our partnership with FOX Soccer,.CONCACAF is committed to organizing great tournaments that showcase many of the best players in the world. The incredible success of our teams at the Olympics demonstrates the deep pool of talent that our member associations are developing throughout the confederation. Our agreement with Fox Soccer offers us the stage to present that talent to the American audience."
The CONCACAF Gold Cup, started in 1991, is the confederation's biennial championship for national teams that is contested in odd-numbered years. It is a 12-team event that is played in 13 different cities across the United States with countries qualifying from CONCACAF's three regions. Mexico has won the tournament a record six times, including the last competition in 2011, when it defeated the United States 4-2 in the final before a crowd of 93,420 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. That match drew the largest audience in FOX Soccer history, as 945,000 viewers tuned-in to deliver a 1.43 household coverage area rating (according to Nielsen Media Research).
The CONCACAF Champions League, inaugurated in the 2008-09 season, is the confederation's annual club championship. It features 24 teams from each of CONCACAF's three sub-regions -- North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Monterrey has captured the last two championships, overcoming the USA's Real Salt Lake (2011) and fellow Mexican club Santos (2012) 3-2 on aggregate on both occasions.
