FIFA has officially opened the tender process for the broadcasting rights of the Club World Cup in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Media companies in these two regions can now bid for the exclusive rights to host the tournaments in 2025 and 2029. Media companies wishing to submit an official bid now have until September 24 to do so.
The football association announced in July that it had begun to call for competitions in other regions, including the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The deadline for applications in these regions has since passed without FIFA making an official announcement.
In addition to revamping the Club World Cup, FIFA is also expected to soon begin selling broadcast rights to its biggest tournaments. In the coming years, the governing body will be making bids for future World Cups, both men’s and women’s competitions. Here in the United States, FOX and Telemundo will continue to operate for the 2026 World Cup across North America.
FIFA opens bid for Club World Cup after failed agreement with Apple
FIFA is opening the bidding process for the Club World Cup after the organization was unable to agree on terms with Apple. The American media giant had previously been negotiating with FIFA for months about broadcasting the competition. Nevertheless, the two sides were far apart on values.
It was previously reported that FIFA valued a broadcast partnership for the two Club World Cups at $4 billion. A deal of that magnitude would have given Apple exclusive media rights around the world. Apple, on the other hand, was only willing to pay up to $1 billion.
Apple essentially felt that FIFA was overselling the Club World Cup broadcasting rights. After all, the competition is not popular with football fans. Players and coaches are not even particularly enthusiastic about playing in the tournament. FIFPro, the global football players’ union, recently took legal action against FIFA over the Club World Cup.
With both sides still far from reaching an agreement, FIFA broke off negotiations. Instead, it has now decided to divide the media rights to the tournaments by region. This is a fairly typical approach. Most international competitions have agreements with several media companies. It remains to be seen whether the governing body will receive anything close to $4 billion by opening a tender process.
Extended tournament not well received by players
Assuming the lawsuit does not disrupt the 2025 Club World Cup, the expanded tournament will begin next summer. FIFA has increased the total number of participating teams from seven to 32. This will extend the tournament from around 10 days to almost a month. Instead of the usual seven games, there will be 63 matches in the upcoming competition. This is the main point of contention for the players’ union.
30 of the 32 teams that will participate in the 2025 Club World Cup have already qualified. Boca Juniors is the latest club to secure a place in the competition. Other top teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Palmeiras and Monterrey will also be involved.
The two remaining teams come from the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF regions. The winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club tournament, will be next in line for a spot. CONCACAF will then be allowed to select the final team as it hosts the competition.
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