Next year’s FIFA Club World Cup faces as TV blackout, after the governing body failed to find a broadcaster.
The tournament has been heavily revised by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, despite threats from players led by Manchester City star Rodri to strike over the number of games they are being asked to play. It will include 32 clubs for the first time, with giants like Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester City set to take on rivals from as far afield as South Africa, Australia and Tunisia at stadiums across the United States. Currently the tournament involves just seven teams – with the UEFA Champions League winner representing Europe – and historically takes place in December, but from 2025 it will be expanded to 32 sides, and be held in the summer.
However despite involving some of the game’s biggest clubs and best players, the tournament looks set for a TV blackout – and will only be available to stream, for free, via DAZN – after FIFA bosses will forced to confirm that they had failed to agree a broadcast deal. A statement from the governing body said: “DAZN, the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, has today been confirmed as the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, cementing its status as the global home of football.
“The landmark agreement will see all 63 matches at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which involves 32 of the best clubs worldwide, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally, in multiple languages, and includes the possibility of sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks. Making a top club competition freely available to every single fan in the world, the groundbreaking partnership combines DAZN’s unique expertise and vision for the future with FIFA’s commitment to making football truly global.”
President Infantino – who had his name etched into the competition’s trophy – added: “From the outset, FIFA wanted to have the best 32 clubs in the world competing in a merit-based, inclusive tournament to crown the only official ‘FIFA world club champion’.
“As part of that, it was imperative for FIFA to ensure that as many football fans across the world could follow the action, and this agreement with DAZN guarantees that in terms of broadcasting, the new FIFA Club World Cup will be the most widely accessible club football tournament ever.”
The 32 teams competing in the tournament will find out their opponents when the draw is made in Miami on December 5.