Is the African Cup of Nations an elitist gathering?

The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) for example says the asking fee to broadcast the matches by LC2 International of France is beyond the corporation's means.

The broadcast rights for the whole tournament cost 305,000 Euros, which is 55 thousand more than the previous tournament in 2006.

Soccer enthusiasts will be disappointed to learn that some of them will miss Africa's premiere soccer event twice in a row since in 2006.

However, some questions have been levelled at SBC about its ability to plan ahead as this is a biennial event with potential sponsorships to attract.

One available option for local football fans to watch the African stars in action is through the local cable TV companies which are transmitting the matches on the Super Sports channel.

It is not clear if TV5 Monde will air the knockout phase of the tournament - four quarterfinals, two semifinals, the third place play-off and the final, just like in 2006.

The Head of Programming at SBC, Maryse Legaie, said many other TV stations in Africa like SBC cannot afford to pay LC2 International such a big sum.

Most of the countries that will not be able to screen the Nations Cup matches have termed LC2 International's deal as "prohibitive, uneconomical, unviable and therefore unacceptable."

The competition takes place in Ghana from Sunday 20 January to Sunday 10 February 2008, and sees the best 16 teams from across the continent battle it out. Matches will be played in four cities - Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi.

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