FIFA media rights tenders commence for Sub-Saharan Africa
November 23, 2023
FIFA has opened two separate tender processes for the media rights to the FIFA World Cup 26 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
With qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 26 having commenced in Africa this month, entities in Sub-Saharan Africa are now invited to put forward their proposals to obtain the media rights for the tournament, which will be hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the US. The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup will follow a new format, with a record 104 matches and double the number of knock-out stage matches.
With the tournament expanding to include a record 48 nations in 2026, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will have a guaranteed nine representatives at the next FIFA World Cup. There also remains the possibility of a tenth African side sealing a place at the tournament, with one African nation guaranteed to advance to FIFA intercontinental play-off tournament.
Interested parties are also invited to submit their proposals to broadcast the tenth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027. The host(s) of the FIFA World Cup 2027 will be decided on May 17th 2024 by the FIFA Congress.
African teams made their mark on this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, with three of Africa’s four representatives advancing to the knockout phase and all four winning a match for the first time in history. With the tournament having expanded to feature 32 teams in the group stage from 2023 onwards, African nations will continue to have strong representation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as women’s football continues to grow.
The bid submission deadline in each case is December 13th.