Sky Sports will offer live coverage of all 52 of the tournament’s matches, with ten games set to air on BBC, including two of the quarter finals, both semi finals and the final.

The 2022 Afcon, which was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, gets underway in Cameroon on 9th January and runs until 6th February.

Coming midway through the season, 40 Premier League players, including Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, will represent their countries at the tournament.

Despite reports that the biennial competition could be delayed further amid rising cases of the Omicron variant, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has insisted that the tournament will still go ahead in January.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing such a prestigious event free-to-air for UK audiences,” said Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport.

“The African Cup of Nations launches a huge year of international football and I know fans will look forward to following all the action from the competition across BBC platforms.”

Veron Mosengo-Omba, general secretary at CAF, added: “It is important for CAF to ensure that the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, being the single-biggest sporting event on African soil, and prime content, is accessible all over the world.

“This event is consumed not only by Africans but enjoys a global audience. In Cameroon next year, we are planning an event bigger and better product that will attract millions of viewers.”