beIN SPORTS confirm Arabic and English coverage for all 64 live matches
• Opening and closing ceremonies and matches, semi-finals and final will be broadcast free-to-air on beIN SPORTS
beIN SPORTS, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)’s leading broadcaster, will champion the growing equality and diversity in global football by airing live and exclusive all 64 matches of this summer’s much-anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023TM – the first of the tournament’s nine editions to feature 32 teams.
Through its beINSPIRED initiative, beIN is committed to elevating the profile of under-represented sports globally and recognizes the value that all sports, and particularly women’s sports, play in advancing equality across the international sports ecosystem. This summer, beIN will broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies and matches, semi-finals and final across the MENA region on its free-to-air channel, beIN SPORTS.
The remaining matches will air over a non-stop one-month programming schedule on beIN SPORTS 1 PREMIUM in Arabic, and in English on beIN SPORTS 1 ENGLISH, from 20 July to 20 August. Match timings vary between 04:00 MECCA – 15:30 MECCA with most games between 08:00 MECCA – 13:00 MECCA.
Arabic coverage on beIN SPORTS 1 PREMIUM will feature in-studio commentary of the tournament’s opening ceremony and match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway live from the Football Ferns’ national stadium in Auckland’s Eden Park, as well as all the games featuring the Moroccan national team, the semi-finals and the final. The in-studio coverage will be presented by Areej Sleem, the first female Arab presenter to cover a slew of the world’s most prestigious global sporting events.
beIN SPORTS will also provide in-depth analysis hosted by two of the Arab world’s most high-profile women footballers in former Jordanian team captain Ala’a Othman, who led her national side to West Asian Championship victories in 2005 and 2007, as well as winning the 2010 First Arab Cup Championship in Bahrain. Othman also steered her Shabab al-Ordon team to four consecutive Women’s League Championship wins. Joining Othman is Fatima Zohra, the former Moroccan player and referee, and the current coach of both the women and men’s teams at Olympique club de Khouribga (OCK) in her home country.
Over on beIN SPORTS 1 ENGLISH all 64 matches will be available live and exclusive. There will also be a nightly studio “World Cup Today” on air at 18:00 MECCA, that will show the best of the day’s action. The best analysis will be provided by Jodie Taylor, the current Arsenal FC player and a 51 international cap holder, who was part of the England team that finished third at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Taylor will be joined by Claire Rafferty the former England international and regular UK TV pundit.
beIN SPORTS NEWS will also dedicate a 26-minute nightly bulletin to the tournament at 18:00 MECCA to review all the day’s action, preview upcoming games, and air exclusive feature stories and interviews. The bulletins will be presented by a female team of a beIN SPORTS news presenter and guests, and will include reactions from participating nations, including Morocco.
“This will be an historic FIFA Women’s World Cup with the tournament’s biggest ever line-up of competing national sides reflecting women’s soccer growing global status,” commented Duncan Walkinshaw, Director of Programs at beIN MENA. “We anticipate strong consumer demand across the region, with Arab fans expected to support the Moroccan side’s fortunes. We will also extend our offering to a ‘free TV channel’ in each MENA territory for the opening ceremony and match, the semi-finals, final and the closing ceremony. We look forward to providing outstanding coverage of this exceptional tournament and wish all the competing sides the best of luck.”