Football’s world governing body is reportedly close to an agreement with Apple that would give the streamer global rights to a new ‘World Cup’ style tournament being played in the United States next summer.
The proposed competition has had a number of false starts. Initial plans to hold the event in China in 2021 were abandoned because of the Covid pandemic.
Apple is expected to pay ‘just’ $1 billion for the rights – earlier estimates put the fee at $4 billion – but it’s not clear whether there will be any headroom for free-to-air rights.
Unlike the well-established World Cup, this new competition is unlikely to make it onto any national list of protected events.
Streamers are increasingly becoming interested in sports. Apple already has a ten-year agreement to stream the US-based Major League Soccer as well as Major League Baseball. Amazon, which has lost UK sports rights to the Premier League, international rugby and international tennis, shows Champions League and the Premier League in some international markets. Disney+ has bought rights to the UEFA Europa League and Conference League competitions in Sweden and Denmark.
FIFA is hoping the tournament will feature a mix of leading teams from around the world including 12 from Europe. It has been earmarked for June 15 to July 13, 2025, immediately after the completion of the European season.
