The broadcast of the 32^nd Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON 2019 starting on June 21 will be given a light-hearted flair by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and its Official Marketing Agency, HotSports Media Group.

Deploying a ground-breaking strategy, the partners have concluded arrangements to introduce comedy into the football analysis when the studios open for the broadcast.

A team of A-list comedians, led by Nigeria’s No 1 comedy act, Atunyota Akpobome (well known as Alibaba) will offer viewers on NTA terrestrial channels across the country hilarious commentary and analysis of the matches.

This move by NTA, Africa’s largest television network, and HS Media, Nigeria’s foremost sports marketing company, is unprecedented in live football telecasting in the country.

Receiving Alibaba at the headquarters of HS Media Group in Lagos at the weekend, the Group’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Taye Ige said the marriage of football and comedy would give broadcast sponsors and fans of the game a very pleasurable and rewarding tournament.

“We want to achieve a significant milestone in football broadcasting by bringing sports and entertainment together in the terrestrial live studios of AFCON 2019. We want to produce a memorable event that will remain in the minds of football loving Nigerians for many years to come,” Ige assured.

Responding, Alibaba said that he is glad to be part of the AFCON 2019 live studios innovation as he strongly believes that the combination of sports and comedy have the strong potential to attract Nigerian fans to football.

“Football and comedy will provide a unique platform to project a tournament as big as the African Nations Cup where millions of Nigerian football fans will stay glued to their screens in support of their darling Super Eagles in Egypt,” Alibaba said.

Brands in all categories of the economy are jostling to have a good standing in the minds the teeming viewers as the Super Eagles open their campaign for the African title on June 22 against Burundi. Other teams in the group are Guinea and Madagascar.

Founded in 1996, HotSports has exciting and authoritative sports broadcasting packages that offer brand owners a vehicle to the widest sports loving audience in Nigeria.

It is the Official Media Partner as well as marketing consultants to the Nigeria Football Federation and has become reputable as a go-getting company committed to adding value to clients’ sponsorship investments.

It has provided activations for leading brands around major continental and global sports events.