The deals were sealed by parent company MEDIAPRO Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Spanish media giant MEDIAPRO, which earlier this year became the long-term media partner of Canadian Soccer Business and the Canadian Premier League. Live and on-demand coverage of the Chinese Soccer League (CSL) begins this week with the match between Tianjin Tianhai and Guangzhou Evergrande, followed by Shanghai SIPG v Shanghau Shenhua. OneSoccer will show the top two matches each round, giving fans the chance to follow their favourite teams and a host of international stars, including Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande), Oscar and Hulk (Shanghai SIPG) and Marek Hamsik (Dalian Yifang). Coverage will continue throughout the season through to the final round in December. Guangzhou Evergrande, the league’s most successful outfit with seven CSL titles, two Chinese FA Cups and two Asian Football Confederation Champions League victories, currently lies in second place in the 16-team league after 15 rounds, behind Beijing Sinobo Guoan, which last year won its first major trophy in 15 years when star striker Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo) led the team to the 2018 Chinese Cup title.

Guangzhou Evergrande’s manager, former Italian great Fabio Cannavaro (2006 Ballon d’Or, 2006 World Cup champion with Italy), will be looking to Paulinho to lead the hunt for the team’s eighth league title after finishing runner-up in 2018 to Shanghai SIPG. Other stars plying their trade in the CSL include Argentine greats Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebei China Fortune), Ramires (Jiangsu Suning) and current top goalscorer Eran Zahavi (Guangzhou R&F).

OneSoccer will also air live coverage of the Chinese Cup tournament, starting with the quarter-final round on the 23rd and 24th of this month, and progressing to the semi-finals in August and the two-legged final in November and December. Shandong Luneng Taishan, currently fourth in the CSL standings, shares the honours with Beijing Guoan for most Chinese Cup titles at five apiece, but, drawn together at the quarter-final stage, only one will go through for a chance at the 2019 title. Oscar López, CEO of MEDIAPRO Canada, said that “we are thrilled to be able to offer Canadian soccer fans coverage of the Chinese Soccer League and the Chinese FA Cup for the first time. We’re confident that viewers will flock to these fiercely competitive and star-studded tournaments, both among the best in Asia.” OneSoccer subscribers will be able to view CSL and Chinese Cup coverage at no extra charge, gaining access to a total of 44 league and cup matches in addition to 100 Canadian Premier League matches, all the home matches of the Canada Soccer’s Women’s and Men’s National Teams and all 24 matches of the 2019 Canadian Championship involving all professional soccer teams in Canada. OneSoccer also airs a wide range of complementary programming, including its weekly League in Review highlights show hosted by popular sports broadcaster Andi Petrillo as well as Kickoff Countdown, an insightful and irreverent league preview panel show fronted by soccer pundit Kurt Larson. From next month, OneSoccer will bolster its weekly grid with additional original content, including daily news programs, mid-week magazine shows, interviews, features and other formats, OneSoccer is available through the OneSoccer.ca website and the OneSoccer app, available through Chromecast, Apple Store and Google Play. OneSoccer also has an extensive digital presence on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, where news, photos, interviews, exclusive content, game-day clips and other content are posted continually, to keep fans in constant touch with the league and their clubs, and to bring the players, coaches and home cities closer to fans new and old. About MEDIAPRO Group The MEDIAPRO Group, which recorded annual revenue of close to €2 billion in 2018, is a leader in the European audiovisual sector. With a fleet of 70 High Definition and 4K Outside Broadcast units, the Group produces more than 6,000 events around the world each year. It is currently involved in the production of 16 national soccer competitions around the world, including top-tier leagues in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Kenya, Angola, Slovenia, Serbia, Colombia, Bolivia and Mexico. Mediapro Group crews produce events for the UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations, FIBA events, the Euroleague and Formula 1. Mediapro will also be the host broadcaster of this month’s Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru. MEDIAPRO manages the global media rights to Spain’s LaLiga Santander and last year was awarded a wide package of rights for the four seasons from 2020-21 to France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, where it is set to launch a 24/7 channel to carry live coverage of league matches. The MEDIAPRO Group produces more than 15 TV channels worldwide, including several specialty sports channels. With 58 offices on four continents, MEDIAPRO is also one of the most important creators of content in the world, with projects for HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Turner, DirecTV, Movistar, FOX, Viacom and Televisa. Download press release Download picture