The President of the UAE Professional Association, Abdullah Nasser Al Junaibi, yesterday, that the agreement on television broadcast rights for competitions of the UAE Professional League, which include: the Gulf Arab League, the Arabian Gulf Cup, the U-21 League, and the Arabian Gulf Super Cup, extending for three years, worth Total AED 390 million.
This came during the signing ceremony of the television rights agreement between the Association and the channels: Abu Dhabi Sports, Dubai Sports and Sharjah Sports, which was held yesterday at the Association's headquarters in the capital Abu Dhabi.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Yaqoub Al Saadi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, Rashid Amiri, Deputy Executive Director of Dubai Channel Affairs, and Ismail Al Hosni, Director of Support Services at Sharjah Radio and Television Authority.
Abdullah Al Junaibi, in press statements on the sidelines of the ceremony, said that the channels are not just rights holders, but a key partner in the development of sports as a whole in the UAE, and football in particular, and praised the efforts of those in charge of these channels, and the development of content and materials provided.
He added: «We have worked to continue to improve the services of television broadcasting by adding new benefits to the viewer, commentator and media, in terms of information and statistics, we have previously provided thermal monitoring of the players and will continue this season as well, as we have worked to update the television graphics and visual format in general to suit our new identity, We hope to provide the viewer with visual content suited to our position, in cooperation with our sports channel partners. ”
He added: «We were keen, also, to include the English commentary in all games, in order to increase the prevalence and follow-up of different nationalities, in the past was the comment on one game and only on Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, now English commentary will be available on all channels».
For his part, Yacoub Al-Saadi said: `` We, as sports channels, are partners in providing a distinctive media image, befitting the competitions of the Association of Professionals and the development of the United Arab Emirates, and we promise viewers to continue excellence. ''
`` We are trying to get our message across to five continents, '' said Rashid Amiri.``The first broadcast of the league matches started in 1973, and now that the league has agreed to renew for the next three years, we are looking for spectators to watch our league matches from the open emblem from anywhere in the world. ''
In turn, Ismail Al Hosani expressed his delight at the participation of Sharjah Sports Channel in this event with the start of the sporting season 2019-2020.He wished that Sharjah Sports will be part of the system alongside Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports channels in presenting a refined image of the UAE football.
The English commentary in the new season will cover all matches and will be available on all sports channels carrying competitions.