Serie A’s clubs agreed on August 13 to launch their own Arabic-language channel on YouTube to live-stream some matches in the Middle East and North Africa as Italy’s top-flight soccer league faces a stalemate over the sale of TV rights in the region.

Serie A, home to Juventus, AC Milan and Inter, has been trying for months to break a deadlock over the sale of rights to screen its matches over the next three seasons across a market which includes MENA territories such as Egypt, Morocco and the Gulf States.

The league “has decided to proceed with the creation of an Arabic-language channel on the YouTube platform. The channel will broadcast five matches for each day of the championship, visible only in the area concerned”, Serie A said in a statement, following a teleconferenced meeting.

The Serie A clubs agreed to live stream matches on Google-owned video platform YouTube for up to a year, while they keep negotiating a deal with traditional broadcasters over the sale of TV licenses in the region.

This back-up deal with the online video sharing service will end in case the league seals a deal to sell its pay-TV licenses in the region.