UK-BASED streaming giant DAZN has won the broadcast rights to Fifa’s new Club World Cup.
In a deal that has been rumoured for weeks, the company, whose headquarters are in London, agreed a £790m contract to screen all 63 matches in the inaugural tournament.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino will be in Miami to help conduct the draw in which the fate of the 32 teams, including Chelsea, Manchester City, Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid and Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, will be known.
And the confirmation of the DAZN deal – with suggestions that it might lead to significant investment in the company from Saudi Arabia – will add further impetus to Infantino’s belief that the tournament will be a major success.
Unlike the World Cup, the new tournament is not one of the UK’s “listed events” that must be screened on free to air terrestrial television.
But the terms of the DAZN deal will ensure that the matches will all be freely available through the streaming platform.
Hailing a “landmark agreement”, Fifa said the entire tournament would be “live-streamed, free to view on DAZN worldwide” although the company could sub-license games to linear broadcasters in markets.
Infantino said: “This deal means every single football fan across the globe can watch the best players from the 32 best clubs compete in the new Fifa Club World Cup to be the first official ‘Fifa Club World Champions’.
“The new Fifa Club World Cup is a merit-based, inclusive tournament that will be the pinnacle of global club football, capturing the imagination of players and fans across the world.
“Through this broadcasting agreement, billions of football fans worldwide can now watch what will be the most widely accessible club football tournament ever – and FOR FREE.”
All 32 Club World Cup Teams
- Pot 1: Manchester City (England), Real Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), PSG (France), Flamengo (Brazil), Palmeiras (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina), and Fluminense (Brazil)
- Pot 2: Chelsea (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Inter (Italy), Porto (Portugal), Atlético de Madrid (Spain), Juventus (Italy), and Salzburg (Austria).
- Pot 3: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Ulsan HD (South Korea), Al Ahly FC (Egypt), Wydad AC (Morocco), Monterrey (Mexico), Club León (Mexico), Boca Juniors (Argentina), and Botafogo (Brazil).
- Pot 4: Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Al Ain FC (UAE), Esperance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa), Pachuca (Mexico), Seattle Sounders FC (USA), Auckland City (Australia), and Inter Miami (USA).
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The US – who will also be hosting the World Cup proper in 2026 alongside Mexico and Canada – will offer up 12 stadiums for the tournament.
The chosen grounds range from capacities of 20,000 to a whopping 88,500.
Matches will stretch from coast to coast with games played in iconic US cities like Los Angeles, Nashville and Washington D.C.
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