Abu Dhabi Media Wins Broadcast Rights To Euro, UEFA World Cup Qualifying

Abu Dhabi Media announced on Sunday that "it has acquired the broadcasting rights" in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region for UEFA European Championship Qualifiers beginning in September, according to THE NATIONAL. The qualifiers will take place across the end of '14 and throughout '15 for the '16 tournament, to be held in France. The qualifying draw "will be held at the Palais de Congres Acropolis in Nice, France" on Feb. 23. Abu Dhabi Media also announced it acquired the rights to UEFA qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, "set to be staged in Russia." The company said that "it will have at least 546 matches available for broadcast" -- 258 Euro qualifiers and 258 World Cup qualifiers, plus a minimum of 30 friendlies from the host nations (France, Euro 2016 and Russia, World Cup 2018) (THE NATIONAL, 12/22).