American Football International, AFI, and the Finnish American Football Association, SAJL, have signed an agreement for the exclusive digital distribution of all Maple League games to a global audience outside of Finland thru 2023.
John McKeon, founder and CEO of AFI:
“We are excited to team up with the SAJL and the Maple League in Finland, by far one of the top American football leagues in Europe. We have been working hard for the past seven years to promote the game of football throughout Europe and the world and this is the next natural step, putting football in Finland on an international stage.”
Through this agreement, which is for three years AFI on its own distribution platform, will handle the distribution and marketing of live broadcasts outside of Finland as well as the game commentary in either Finnish or English.
Roope Noronen, President of SAJL, is excited about the new deal:
“We are very pleased that Maple League games are available worldwide.. The goal is to keep the Maple League one of Europe’s top leagues, and global visibility supports this excellently. AFI and its networks are a very good platform to expand the popularity of the domestic league and league clubs, as well as the number of followers ”
The 2020 Maple League will kick off on Thursday, July 30. When launched, it will be the first American football league to start after the pandemic lockdown. Demand for American football is high right now and Maple League games will receive widespread attention in the otherwise quiet international football market.
In Finland, Sanoma Media Finland’s Ruutu + service is the distribution channel for Maple League games in Finland. AFI’s Maple League broadcasts will be geo-blocked in Finland.