The rights acquisition adds to Integral’s expanding media
rights portfolio that includes the free-to-air rights for the English Premier
League in Nigeria, as well as the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The rights awarded by football’s world governing body also
includes the provision of host broadcast production services and sees Integral
collaborating with Hey What’s On, the leading New York and Lagos based
production company, thus guaranteeing the delivery of the highest quality of
production for all the programming.
Commenting on the deal, Chichi Nwoko the Chief Executive Officer of Hey What’s On stated that “Working with Integral to produce exciting content for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers is a project we are pleased to be a part of. Together with Integral and the broadcast partners, we will bring Nigerian fans up to date exciting content on the qualifiers leading to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar next year.”
The Managing Director of Integral Abimbola Ilo said: “We are
delighted to add the thrilling FIFA World Cup African qualifiers involving
Nigeria to our expanding football rights portfolio. Bringing the best of
African football ahead of Qatar 2022 to Nigerians, affirms our commitment to
delivering premium sports content to the homes of passionate Nigerian fans.
Naturally, we are extremely excited to be working on this historic project as
we follow the Super Eagles in what we hope will be a hugely successful FIFA
World Cup qualification campaign.”
The next round of qualifiers for African teams is scheduled
to start in September with the Super Eagles playing at home on 3 September, in
Lagos and will run until March 2022.