FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, is close to a deal with Apple that will give the tech company global TV rights to a major new tournament, a month-long World Cup-style competition for top teams that will be played for the first time in the US next summer .
The deal could be announced as soon as this month, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly because it has not yet been officially confirmed. It comes after several false starts for a competition championed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Plans to hold it in China in 2021 were scuttled due to the pandemic.
The value of the deal could be as little as a quarter of the $4 billion that FIFA initially estimated, the people said. It is unclear whether the deal with Apple will include free-to-air rights, meaning the entire event could only be available to Apple TV+ subscribers, a factor that senior FIFA executives have expressed concern about.
If the deal goes through, it would be the first time FIFA, which will stage the first expanded 48-team men’s World Cup in the United States in 2026, has agreed to a single global contract. It would also represent the latest foray into soccer for Apple, which in 2022 signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal for global streaming rights to Major League Soccer.
Streaming services are increasingly interested in live sports as they seek to attract more subscribers. Peacock streamed a National Football League playoff game last season, and Amazon Prime has streamed Thursday night NFL games since 2022. Apple also has a deal to stream Major League Baseball games. Netflix has focused more on sports documentaries, although it recently pushed live “sports-related programming,” including a multibillion-dollar streaming deal for World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship weekly wrestling show, “Raw.” It also announced that it will stream a boxing match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer Jake Paul in July.
FIFA had hoped the tournament, which would feature a mix of successful teams from around the world, including 12 from Europe, home to most of the world’s best talent, would create huge demand from broadcasters and commercial partners. But a combination of poor planning and delays caused broadcasters to give up the numbers FIFA wanted. Sponsors have also so far been reluctant to commit the $150 million the organization is seeking in sponsorship packages, according to the people.
A global deal with a major company like Apple could give the tournament, which will be played every four years, the high quality that Infantino is trying to ensure. Tom Neumeier, an Apple spokesman, declined to comment. “As a general practice, FIFA does not confirm or deny commercial discussions,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA has set the tournament from June 15 to July 13 in 2025. This comes after the long European season and is traditionally a time when no major events take place to allow players to rest in the off-season a year before the World Cup. The players’ unions criticized FIFA for not consulting them before announcing the event.
FIFA also faces significant costs by playing the event in the United States, where it will act as a setup for the World Cup. Some games will be in large arenas, including NFL stadiums that must be rented. FIFA had hoped to secure major sponsorship partners willing to pay as much as the $100 million World Cup sponsors pay per cycle, but with just over a year to go, no partners have been announced for the event.
The deal must be done soon to be announced ahead of preview events later next month, during which entertainment companies try to woo advertisers by talking up future programming.
European clubs have been pressing FIFA for months for specific details about the event, including the cities in which it will be held and even its name. FIFA said the event would be called the Mundial de Clubes FIFA, but teams have now been notified that this is being reviewed.
