Dazn secures exclusive deal on global streaming rights for 2029 Club World Cup

Dazn has secured an exclusive option for global streaming rights for the next men’s Club World Cup in 2029 in a development that deepens its partnership with Fifa.

The Saudi Arabia-backed streaming company came to Fifa’s aid before the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States last year by agreeing to pay $1bn for global rights for the tournament after many linear broadcasters and other streamers had declined to bid.

Apple TV had held talks with Fifa over a global streaming deal for 2025, but withdrew owing to a disagreement over valuation, and Fifa’s subsequent attempt to sell the rights on a regional basis foundered.

Dazn’s surprise late bid, facilitated by the purchase of a 10% stake in the company by Saudi’s Surj Sports Investment group, in effect bankrolled Fifa’s $1bn (£745m) prize fund, with the winners, Chelsea, taking home about $114m (£85m).

Dazn is a loss-making business despite having more than 300 million subscribers, with its 2025 accounts showing its operating losses increased from $772.9m to $939.8m over the previous 12 months, but appears content to continue to invest heavily in rights.

The value of its Club World Cup rights deal, or the point at which the option must be triggered, is not known but will give Fifa breathing space before the second edition of its expanded competition that has been designed as a major money spinner but remains fraught with political problems.

Planning for the 2029 tournament has proved difficult, with no decisions made on venues, format or size despite longstanding discussions between Fifa and the clubs about expanding to 48 teams, first reported by the Guardian two years ago.

Club World Cup progress has been a casualty of the fallout from Gianni Infantino’s aborted World Cup sell-off proposal, which led the lobby group European Football Clubs (EFC) to threaten to withdraw its support.

In a letter to Fifa obtained by the Guardian EFC also expressed “serious disappointment” at the delays in paying $250m in solidarity money owed to clubs from 2025 more than a year after the first competition had concluded.

Relations between EFC and Fifa are understood to have improved since the withdrawal of Infantino’s Fifa Forward Enterprise plan, but they have yet to agree the finer details of a proposed joint venture to manage the Club World Cup’s commercial operations, which may be put on hold until after the Fifa presidential election in March.

The 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco will be the favourites to host in 2029 if Infantino is re-elected given his close relationship with King Mohammed VI.

Fifa’s decision to award hosting rights to the first women’s Club World Cup to the United States, revealed by the Guardian last month, has strengthened Morocco’s case because the US was in the running for 2029.

A jointly hosted tournament staged by Morocco and Spain is another possibility. Portugal, the third major 2030 co-hosts, are understood to have reservations about hosting.