AS hosts Madrid presentation of AS Arabia, the new paper bringing sports news to a global Arabic-speaking audience

AS has today presented in Madrid AS Arabia, the new newspaper that will bring sports news to Arab readers. AS Arabia will reach 25 Arabic-speaking countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The initiative is set to consolidate the international expansion of the sports newspaper AS, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The event was held at the headquarters of the newspaper and was attended by Manuel Mirat, CEO of PRISA and Chairman and CEO of AS; Alfredo Relaño, executive editor of AS; Abdullatif Al Mahmoud, CEO of Qatar’s Dar Al Sharq Group; and the Executive Manager of the Al Sharq E-Management Company, Muhammad Al Kordy. The agreement between AS and Dar Al Sharq Group for the launch of this new edition of the sports newspaper was signed in Doha (Qatar) last August. The agreement makes AS Arabia the first Spanish sports media outlet to be published in Arabic. The paper will have a newsroom in Cairo, with another planned to cover the World Cup in 2022.

"The Arab world is is extremely interested in sport and what happens in Europe. We’ve taken on a major challenge in organizing the World Cup in 2022 and AS Arabia will be in a position to satisfy much of that interest, and to report on everything related to this major sporting event with the very best content," said Muhammad Al Kordy, Executive Manager of the Al Sharq E-Management Company. "Today is a historic day. Two years ago we made a firm commitment to digitization and sports. The launch of AS Arabia is set to be a milestone in our global development," said Manuel Mirat, CEO of PRISA and Chairman of AS.

With this agreement, AS takes a crucial step forward in its commitment to reaching out to embrace global markets while at the same time forging ahead with its project to reach as many readers as possible. AS is a global leader with 25 million readers and already has editions in Chile, Colombia and Mexico, where it is market leader according to comScore figures, and it is also present in Argentina, USA, Peru, South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia. Its English-language editions allow it to reach a truly global audience of readers and fans of major-league Spanish sport.

PRISA is the world’s leading Spanish and Portuguese-language media group in the creation and distribution of content in the fields of culture, education, news and information, and entertainment.

Present in 23 countries, PRISA reaches millions of people through its global brands El País, LOS40, Santillana, W Radio and As. As market leader in press, TV, both spoken-word and music radio, and education, it is one of the Spanish-speaking world’s largest media groups thanks to its high-quality content and its eagerness to embrace the digital economy through the connectivity and innovation of its products and services. Its presence in Brazil and Portugal, and among the growing Hispanic community in the US, opens up a global market of 700 million people.