ESPN Star Sports announced Thursday its successful acquisition of exclusive Pay-TV rights for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup Qatar 2011.

Through this deal, sealed by World Sport Group, the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner, the AFC Asian Cup 2011 will be available live on multiple platforms across all 24 countries in the region under the ESS footprint.

In addition, leading up to the event, ESS will broadcast the 16-episode programme, “Road to Doha”, highlighting the teams and their preparation as they gear up to compete in Doha, Qatar from 7 to 29 January, 2011 for the most coveted trophy in Asia.

The acquisition augments ESS’s Asian football offering, and reinforces its reputation as the home of football. All 32 matches will be broadcast on television across ESPN and Star Sports networks, and for the first time fans can watch the high-definition broadcast of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 on ESPN HD. The event will also be available online live and on-demand on ESPN Player, its broadband network. In addition, football fans can catch daily news and goals from the event on mobileESPN.

“These are very exciting times for Asian Football. For the first time in the tournament’s history the fans can watch the Action in high definition quality,” said AFC president Mohammad Bin Hammam. “I am very excited about our partnership with ESPN Star Sports and believe that this will take the experience of the Asian Cup to new heights. I am especially pleased about all the various ways the technology allows us to take the game to the fans,” added Bin Hammam.

Said ESS executive vice-president, programming and production Craig Dobbs, “We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with the AFC. With our focused approach and commitment to build Asian Football over the years, the property today has a high level of traction and immense appeal across our broadcast footprint with devoted fans across the region following their favourite teams and players.

The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 features the top 16 teams in the region, including defending champions Iraq and the four Asian contenders in the recent Fifa World Cup – Korea Republic, Japan, Australia, and DPR Korea. Favourites China, a regional powerhouse and India which aims to become a significant player on the world stage have also qualified for the competition.

It is after after 24 years that India has qualified for the tournament billed as the continent’s top sporting event.

From: SportzPower