Gianni Infantino is a man under pressure. (Image: Getty)
ITV reportedly made a bid to secure the rights to show the Club World Cup this summer, but not one that involved any money. Instead, the broadcaster tried to capitalise on its viewership numbers by hoping would be persuaded by the prospect of a wider television audience.
Instead, it was announced in December that streaming platform DAZN has secured the exclusive rights. They will show all 63 matches during the expanded 32-team tournament, which takes place in the US between June 15 and July 13.
will be the defending champions, having won the last tournament under the old format in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
According to , ITV made an official offer before the DAZN deal, to the amount of £0.00. FiIFA, however, refuted suggestions that it would benefit them to ensure the games were now behind a paywall for fans.
DAZN is said to have paid around £829million to secure the rights instead. This Thursday, their coverage will begin when the Fifa Club World Cup draw is held in Miami and broadcast live.
However, they could potentially still sublicense rights to local free-to-air broadcasters in the UK. and are the English sides involved in the competition, with 63 matches being streamed overall.
Pep Guardiola will lead Manchester City in America. (Image: Getty)
The DAZN deal has since drawn scepticism in many quarters, though. Last month, the company sold a minority stake to SURJ Sports Investment, a Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) branch.
Cynics have viewed this development as an attempt by FIFA to further relations with the Saudi market. Exortionate prize money is on offer for the tournament, with an overall fund of more than £2billion to be distributed to teams.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s reputation is seemingly on the line this summer, having received criticism for organising the tournament. manager i is one high-profile figure to publicly admit he was not keen to take his side to America.
Don’t miss…
Prior to the DAZN announcement, Infantino had insisted he would not be draining FIFA’s reserves to pay out prize money. But following the agreement, he insisted his primary concern was for fans all over 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,” he said. “And they can do it for free.”