AFCON TV rights: ISA Hayatou under Egyptian investigations.

The Egyptian authorities on Thursday accused the African Football Confederation (CAF) of breaking the rules of competition when signing an exclusive TV broadcasting agreement for African competitions, including the African Cup of Nations, A French company Lagardère Sports.

The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), which operates under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Industry, accuses Cameroon's African football boss Issa Hayatou of "abusing his control over the TV broadcasting system African competitions "during a negotiation with Lagardère Sports in June 2015, which extended the exclusivity of rights to Lagardère until 2028 in return for a guarantee of more than one billion dollars.

According to the ECA, the CAF attributed the rights to Lagardère Sports "without offering them to other interested companies within a framework guaranteeing free and honest competition."

On Friday, the CEO of Lagardère Sports Andrew Georgiou called the allegations of the authorities "totally unfounded". "We are sure of our position, and with time I think justice will be done," he said.

"The process has been good. The negotiation with CAF has been tough, we have changed a lot and we are pleased that CAF has recognized what we have done," Georgiou added.

CAF, whose headquarters is based in Cairo, explains according to the ECA that the agreement answers to the Egyptian right, denied any infraction. The contract "does not contravene national and international law", reacted the supreme body of African football, adding that it negotiated the TV rights "after evaluating the different offers submitted and in accordance with the existing clauses".

Lagardère Sports awarded the Qatari beIN Sports group the rights to broadcast the African Cup of Nations (CAN), whose 2017 edition begins on January 14 in Gabon. BeIN Sports will be allowed to broadcast the competition in the Middle East and North Africa.