ACCRA - The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Chinese digital television operator StarTimes have signed an agreement by which the media group obtained the broadcasting rights for the ongoing Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Cameroon, said CAF Communication Director Alexandre Siewe and overseas public relations officer David Courbe in a joint statement Saturday.

CAF Interim President Constant Omari expressed delight with the partnership and said the broadcast of the matches will facilitate access for the largest number of football fans in Africa to images of one of its top competitions.

He said: "We are delighted with this alliance with StarTimes, an internationally recognized group in the field of football broadcasting which enhances one of our most beautiful events and brings together more and more public. Through this new partnership with a key player, we are expanding the audience of Total CHAN to make it an essential destination for football fans in Africa."

Under the agreement, the operating license issued by CAF grants StarTimes the right to broadcast all 32 matches of the competition in the territories of sub-Saharan Africa from Jan 16 to Feb 7.

The collaboration between CAF and StarTimes is the first of its kind between the two entities, with the ambition of offering African football fans wider access to one of CAF's most important competition.

The Total CHAN is a tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in domestic leagues in the continent. A total of 16 teams divided into four groups of four each are participating in this year's competition.