ESPN acquires Spanish-language Telecast rights to 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying.

ESPN and CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) have reached an agreement for rights in the U.S. to 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying. The agreement makes ESPN Deportes, the company’s Spanish-language network, the exclusive television home of the qualifying tournament’s 2008 edition. In addition to the television rights, the agreement also includes U.S. broadband rights for ESPN360.com, the company’s signature broadband sports network. The 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament will crown the Confederation’s champion and serve as a qualifier to the Men’s Football Tournament to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“This agreement clearly underscores ESPN’s leadership and commitment to offering first-class sporting events to the Latino sports fans and advertisers across multiple media in the U.S.,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “The CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament represents national pride, honor, and glory and we’re thrilled to showcase these national soccer teams on television, broadband and radio, as they compete to represent their home countries at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.”

“CONCACAF is very pleased to partner with ESPN Deportes for the Men’s Olympic Qualification tournament,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer. “ESPN’s unique Spanish-language multi-media platform will provide an excellent promotional vehicle for this important competition.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN Deportes will air all 16 matches live, including the finals March 23. Additionally, the network will also air a preview show each round and provide extensive coverage of the tournament across news and information shows led by SportsCenter, Fuera de Juego and Cronometro. ESPN Deportes Radio, the only around-the-clock national Spanish-language radio network in the U.S., will also broadcast all 16 matches of the 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualification.

U.S. soccer fans will also be able to see all 16 matches live, and via replay, on ESPN360.com. Each match will be available for on-demand replay for 48 hours following its completion. The deal adds to an already robust, and fast-growing, lineup of live broadband soccer coverage on ESPN360.com in the U.S. that includes UEFA Champions League, Euro 2008, UEFA Cup, FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup, Italian SerieA and Italian Cup, MLS, FIFA U-20 and Beach Soccer World Cup, UEFA U-19 and U-17 Championships, and several top invitational tournaments.

The 2008 CONCACAF U-23 Tournament has two groups of four in the first round competing on a round-robin basis from 11-16 March and will advance two countries to the Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008. Group A, which will stage games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, has Cuba, Honduras, Panama, along with the hosts, USA. Meanwhile, Group B, which will have encounters at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, consists of the defending CONCACAF Champion, Mexico, along with Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. Each first round venue will be hosting three doubleheaders in group play. The semifinals and final will be held at the LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., on March 20 and March 23, respectively. This is the first time in eight years that the final round of the U-23 Championship will be held in the U.S.

The 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualification deal adds to an already robust, and fast-growing, lineup of live soccer coverage on ESPN Deportes that includes UEFA Champions League, Euro 2008, South American World Cup Qualifiers and MLS, and several top Friendly matches.