Bids open for France World Cup rights
January 10, 2024
By Colin Mann
Football’s governing body FIFA has launched an invitation to tender (ITT) for the media rights to the FIFA World Cup 26 and FIFA World Cup 2030 in France, Monaco, Andorra and the French overseas territories.
The FIFA World Cup 26 will be the 23rd edition of the competition and will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the USA. With a record 48 teams, 16 Host Cities and three Host Countries, the tournament will feature an unprecedented 104 matches, uniting the globe through football in June and July 2026.
In France, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final between France and Argentina generated the highest television audience on record, with an average of 25 million viewers across free-to-air and pay.
FIFA suggests that as with the 2026 edition, the FIFA World Cup 2030 will generate enormous excitement across the globe. Subject to the completion of a successful bidding process and subsequent approval of the FIFA Congress in 2024, the sole candidacy for FIFA World Cup 2030 will be the combined bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Additionally, in 2023, the FIFA Council agreed to host three FIFA World Cup 2030 matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay as part of a unique centenary celebration ceremony to mark one hundred years since the first ever FIFA World Cup took place.
The tender process will allow FIFA to select the entity, or entities, which are best placed to secure the required transmission and programming commitments to achieve FIFA’s objective of reaching the widest possible audience whilst providing a high-quality viewing experience for fans.
The bid submission deadline is 10:00am (CET) on February 13th 2024.
Through the sale of media rights for its football tournaments, FIFA generates income which it says is essential to support and develop football around the world, including through the FIFA Forward Development Programme.