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BBC AFRIQUE INCREASES FRENCH COVERAGE OF AFRICAN NATIONS CUP January 16, 2006

13 January 2006

BBC Afrique increases French coverage of African Nations Cup

<|bbc_afrique.gif|BBC AFRIQUE|left|>French speaking listeners can enjoy even more magic and action from the African Nations Cup when BBC Afrique increases its coverage to include live commentary in French of all matches played with teams from Francophone Africa. The tournament kicks off in Egypt, Cairo on Friday, 20 January with BBC Afrique’s top sports team, Gerard Herens, Emmanuel Coste and Thierry Hot, also providing live commentary in French of the opening ceremony, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

Listeners to BBC Afrique will also enjoy interactive programming, interviews, special features and expert analysis as well as up-to-the-minute reports throughout the tournament. There will be daily updates of all 32 matches in BBC Afrique’s 04.30 GMT early morning news and information programme and in BBC Matin from 06.00 GMT, BBC Midi from 12.00 GMT and BBC Soir from 18.00 GMT.

The Sport Weekend magazine programme will be presented live from Egypt every Saturday from 18.30 GMT throughout the competition and will include interviews with football specialists, players and coaches.

Tim Cooke, Head of BBC Afrique said: “Our listeners are passionate about football and we will ensure the best possible coverage of what already promises to be a great tournament by offering even more commentary in French. We will also engage our listeners in lively conversation via our interactive programme l’Afrique en Direct”

Thierry Hot will bring the full excitement of the tournament when he hosts the flagship interactive programme l’Afrique en Direct on Saturday 28 January at 11.00 GMT. Football fans have a full hour to talk about the teams and players, give feedback on matches to date or give support to their national team. To take part: telephone: + 44 20 7557 1640; mobile telephone text / SMS: 00 44 7786 205088 or by email: bbcafrique@bbc.co.uk

BBC Afrique’s African football website bbcafrique.com/can will have minute by minute text coverage of all the games including tournament fixtures, profiles of the sixteen qualifying teams and a special feature on players with African roots around the globe. Football fans visiting bbcafrique.com/can can also download a vibrant African Nations Cup wallchart and calendar featuring the images of African footballing stars.

BBC Afrique will be provide live commentary from the following matches:

Date Match Time

Friday 20 January Egypt v Libya 1655 GMT

Saturday 21 January Ivory Coast v Morocco 1155 GMT

Monday 23 January Ghana v Nigeria 1505 GMT

Tuesday 24 January Ivory Coast v Libya 1505 GMT

Wednesday 25 January Cameroon v Togo 1755 GMT

Friday 27 January Ghana v Senegal 1505 GMT

Saturday 28 January Egypt v Ivory Coast 1655 GMT

Sunday 29 January Cameroon v DRC 1655 GMT

Tuesday 31 January Nigeria v Senegal 1655 GMT

Friday 3 February first quarter-final 1255 GMT

Friday 3 February second quarter-final 1655 GMT

Saturday 4 February third quarter-final 1255 GMT

Saturday 4 February fourth quarter-final 1655 GMT

Tuesday 7 February first semi-final 1255 GMT

Tuesday 7 February second semi-final 1655 GMT

Thursday 9 February third place play-off 1555 GMT

Friday 10 February FINAL 1555 GMT

Ends

For more information contact:

Tim Cooke, Head of BBC Afrique, BBC World Service

+ 44 (0)207 557 2046 tim.cooke@bbc.co.uk

Christine George, Assistant Publicist, BBC World Service

+44(0)207 557 1142 christine.george@bbc.co.uk

Notes to Editors

BBC Afrique is the world’s reference radio in francophone Africa. It has built its reputation and its approach on strict editorial standards based on principles of impartiality, objectivity and fairness and can be heard on FM in a dozen French-speaking African countries including Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali and DR Congo and can be accessed online at bbcafrique.com

BBC World Service is an international radio and online broadcaster delivering programmes and services in 43 languages. It uses multiple platforms to reach 149 million listeners globally, including SW, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. It has more than 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones. Its international online sites, which include audio and visual content and offer users opportunities to interact directly with world events, receive more than 330 million page.