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Snap Inc. has revealed an incredible line-up of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 media partners, as Snapchatters in the region celebrate the biggest sporting event held in the Middle East.
Snapchatters can watch an exciting variety of some of their favourite sports content from shows on Discover or explore a world of creative talent content on Spotlight around the World Cup. Snap has partnered with leading regional broadcasters such as beIN SPORTS, MBC, Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) and Rotana to bring the best of football highlights and talk shows in the region; as well as digital publishers like Augustus for football news and updates; and popular regional football creators from Adnan, based right out of Qatar, to Huda Sports taking fans on a journey with them on the ground.
A highly engaged Gen Z community talks about and watches sports and football on Snapchat daily: over 340 million people use Snapchat every day, engaging with a range of content as well as creative and immersive AR experiences that bring football fans closer to the action. Among football fans, 83% use their phone while watching TV, with fans messaging their friends and engaging with content throughout the game. Other research shows that 55% of Snapchatters share sports-related topics, while 58% connect with sports-related content.
Football is the most popular sport in the world, with FIFA estimating approximately five billion fans worldwide. The sport's popularity continues to soar, with FIFA anticipating that over one million spectators will attend the tournament's 64 matches in Qatar, and the competition will reach a global in-home television audience of over 3 billion people.
Faisal Mahmoud Al-Raisi, Director of Digital, for beIN SPORTS- MENA, said: "The region’s football fans are understandably excited with the World Cup being hosted for the first time in the Arab world. As the Official Broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in MENA, we are delivering unparalleled sports content using our unique access, to excite and entertain our audiences during this historic tournament. Snapchat's immersive experience rekindles fans' passion for the beautiful game, and is why we're offering Snapchatters a plethora of exciting content, daily shows and behind-the-scenes football content."
Sara Abu Zahra, Head of Strategic Media Partnerships and Programming for Snap Inc. across MENA, said: "Snapchat Discover and Spotlight remain the ideal platform to showcase the talent and passion our community shares for football. We are fans too and are excited to engage with our audience with locally-relevant sports content produced by the region's top media publishers and creators, exclusively curated for the platform."
The Snapchat community has grown significantly in MENA, which is now home to over 75 million unique Snapchatters. Over 200 million people watched sports content on Snapchat in 2021 leveraging features such as Snapchat Discover; the in-app content platform, to view the latest sports highlights and moments from major broadcasters, digital publishers, leagues, teams and players.
