Women’s Africa Cup of Nations TV blackout in France and UK fuels anger over ‘disrespect’ for tournament

Broadcasters in France and the United Kingdom have come under fire after failing to show the opening matches of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, despite being announced as official rights holders.

The tournament began on Sunday in Rabat, where Algeria beat Senegal 2-0 and hosts Morocco swept aside Kenya 4-0. The two North African nations are now set for an early heavyweight meeting on Thursday in the second round of group fixtures.

But while the football got under way in Morocco, fans in France and the UK found themselves unable to watch the action live, a situation that has intensified accusations of a lack of respect towards African women’s football.

Promised coverage replaced by reruns

In France, viewers expecting to follow the opening games on beIN Sports – previously announced as the competition’s broadcaster – were left disappointed when neither match appeared on the network’s schedules.

Instead of live coverage from Rabat, beIN Sports showed reruns of baseball, American football and a World Cup in footvolley, a beach sport that blends elements of football and volleyball.

A similar scenario played out in the UK. Channel 4, named by the Confederation africaine de football (CAF) as the British rights holder, also failed to broadcast either of Sunday’s fixtures.

Rather than the start of a major continental championship, the channel ran repeats of reality series “Come Dine With Me” and “A Place in the Sunless”.

Confusion over who is to blame

The absence of live coverage in two major European markets has prompted questions over whether CAF or the broadcasters are responsible for the blackout.

One of the most plausible explanations being discussed is that the channels did indeed secure the rights but then chose not to air the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, effectively opting out of showing the competition despite having access.

No alternative official explanation has been put forward, and neither CAF nor the named broadcasters have publicly clarified the situation, leaving supporters and observers to speculate about what went wrong.

Perceived slight to African women’s football

Regardless of where the fault lies, the failure to televise the opening matches is widely seen as damaging for the tournament and, more broadly, for the development and visibility of women’s football in Africa.

The decision not to screen the games has reinforced suspicions that the women’s game on the continent is still treated as an afterthought, even at the level of its premier national-team competition.

Those frustrations are sharpened by the fact that this edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has already had a troubled build-up. The tournament was long overshadowed by uncertainty surrounding the choice of host country, with an administrative and organisational stand-off delaying final confirmation.

The event was then postponed just 12 days before its original kick-off date, having initially been scheduled to run from 17 March to 3 April, before ultimately beginning later than planned in Rabat.

For many fans and stakeholders, the opening-night blackout in France and the UK has become a symbol of those wider difficulties – and a reminder of the continued struggle for African women’s football to secure the platform and recognition it seeks on the global stage.