NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Zee Sports today announced the successful acquisition of a cricket property --- the Afro Asian Cup.

The broadcasting rights are for the Indian sub-continent. The commercial rights of the Afro Asian Cup (the inaugural edition comprising three ODIs is to be played in South Africa), incidentally, had been bagged by Nimbus Sports for three years for a reported sum of about $ 12 million.
 
 

The International Cricket Council has officially recognised these matches. Top stars from the leading cricketing nations of Asia and Africa make up the Asian XI and African XI.

Commenting on the acquisition, Zee Sports COO Gary Lovejoy said, "We are delighted to acquire the broadcasting rights for the inaugural edition of the Afro Asian Cup. This acquisition is of vital strategic importance to Zee Sports considering the fact that cricket is a passion among the masses in India."

Lovejoy added that the sports channel would weave a series of post and pre-match programmes aimed at providing "value to viewers and advertisers." The details will be announced in the next few days.
 
 

Meanwhile, among the sponsors Nimbus is said to have approached National AIDS Control Organisation, which gets government and outside funding, for sponsoring this year's matches.

The inaugural match this year will be held on 17 August at Supersport Park Centurion, Pretoria. The next two matches will be held in Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban on 20 and 21 August. The series will carry a total prize money of $100,000.

Each victory will fetch the team $25,000, man-of-the-match $5,000 and man-of-the tournament $10,000. The revenue generated from these matches will be utilised for cricket developmental activities in Asia and Africa.