Optus Sport has continued its investment in showcasing the worlds best football by securing the Australian rights to the 2021 and 2024 Copa Amrica tournaments.
The acquisition of South Americas premier football event, and the worlds oldest international football competition, will see Optus Sport exclusively broadcast 79 competitive internationals games in 32 days across the Copa America and EURO 2020 tournaments in June and July 2021.
Optus Head of TV and Content Corin Dimopoulos said todays announcement reinforces Optus Sports position as the home of premium football in Australia.
Optus Sport is well and truly focused on securing the best football tournaments and leagues, whilst continuing our world-class coverage across our stable of top-notch football, he said.
From Lionel Messi and Neymar in the Copa America 2021, to Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane in the upcoming Euro 2020, what was already a big year for Optus Sport has now become a whole lot bigger, he added.
Optus originally acquired the Copa America rights for 2020 but when the tournament didnt take place due to COVID-19, the agreement lapsed. Optus has now agreed a new longer-term arrangement, which means Optus Sport customers will be able to watch Brazil, Argentina, and all other CONMEBOL teams in this years tournament, and then again in 2024.
The next few months now shape up to be the biggest football feast ever on Optus Sport, with huge interest building for EURO 2020, the culmination of the Premier League and WSL seasons, the knockout stage of this seasons Champions League and Europa League, J.League, and now the Copa America 2021.
We pride ourselves on delivering world-class football to our fans, and to now be able to add this to our suite of rights will hopefully be a dream come true for our Optus Sport customers. The months of June and July will be the closest thing you can experience to a World Cup with a celebration of non-stop football, said Mr Dimopoulos.
Optus Sport will be concurrently broadcasting the EURO 2020 and Copa Amrica 2021 tournaments, with matches being scheduled to minimise clashes. Copa America kicks off with Argentina v Chile on Monday June 14 at 07:00am AEST.
CONMEBOL COPA AMERICA 2021 AND 2024 A QUICK GUIDE FOR SPORT FANS
The Copa Amrica is the worlds oldest international football competition, with the first edition of the tournament held in 1916.
All ten CONMEBOL national teams will participate in Copa America 2021, and they will be split into two groups of five. This will be the first tournament since 1993 that wont include two invited nations from outside South America.
For the first time in Copa Amrica history, the tournament will take place in two countries with Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia playing their group stage matches in Argentina and defending champion Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela forming the second group with games in Colombia. The tournament runs from June 14 to July 11 AEST.
Each nation will play every other side in their group, with the top four countries from each zone advancing to the quarter finals. From that point it will be knock-out football all the way to determine who will be the 47th Copa America champions.
For Copa America 2024, a 12-team tournament will be held, with two teams from outside CONMEBOL being invited. Australian fans will be hoping that the Socceroos are one of the two teams that participate after they were unable to compete in the 2020 edition.
Some key matches:
Lionel Messis Argentina play Chile on 14 June at 07:00am AEST
Defending champion Brazil takes on Venezuela on 15 June at 09:00am AEST
World number 8 Uruguay meets Argentina in an epic clash on 18 June at 10:00am AEST
The 2021 Copa America Final kicks off on Sunday 11 July at 10:00am AEST.
For a full schedule of matches and Optus Sport kick-off times can be found on the Optus Sport site or the Optus Sport App.
HOW TO WATCH OPTUS SPORT IN AUSTRALIA
Watch Optus Sport on the big-screen via Fetch, Apple TV, Android TV compatible Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, Apple Airplay, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Samsung Smart TVs or desktop, or on-the-go via tablet, mobile, or laptop.
**The Optus Sport app is available on Samsung TV models from 2017 and onwards via software update.
