Canal Plus Poland, the pay-television operator, and Eleven Sports Poland, the international subscription broadcaster, have jointly acquired rights in the country to French soccer's Ligue 1 in a four-year deal.

The agreement, announced today, will begin on 21 November when the French top flight resumes after the international break and runs to the end of the 2023-24 season.

As well as live matches, the pair will air a highlights show.

The contract was struck with BeIN Media Group, the international rights-holder of the LFP, the French professional league.

Polish U20 goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki (pictured), the understudy at Monaco, is Poland's sole representative in Ligue 1. 

Patryk Mirosławski, chief operating officer of Eleven Sports Poland, said. "Thanks to the successes of Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Lyonnais in the Uefa Champions League last season, Ligue 1 Uber Eats is more popular with Polish football fans than ever. We’re delighted to be bringing Ligue 1 to our viewers until 2023-2024."

Edyta Sadowska, president of the management board and chief executive of Canal Plus Poland, added: "We are glad that the games of one of the strongest European football leagues will be available to Canal Plus viewers for four consecutive seasons. In this way, we supplement our sports offer with additional unique items and we are convinced that it will be of great interest, especially to those fans who were waiting for the great return of football from the Seine to Poland."

Eleven Sports held Ligue 1 rights in Poland between 2015-16 and 2017-18. It presently holds rights in the country to the top soccer leagues in Spain, Germany and Italy, and England's knockout FA Cup, and just last month added Portugal's Liga NOS until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Eleven Sports, which operates four channels in Poland, began broadcasting in the country in August 2015, having hit the headlines as an unsuccessful bidder for the rights to Polish soccer’s Ekstraklasa.

However, it retains less than 1 per cent of the Polish operation, which is now owned almost entirely by Polsat, the commercial broadcaster.

Canal Plus also shows LaLiga and Bundesliga matches in Poland and holds exclusive rights to England's Premier League.

Sportcal