Will DAZN’s FIFA Club World Cup deal shape the future of sports broadcasting?

By Maxwell Kablan

Saturday 14th June 2025 marked the start of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup competition, with Inter Miami hosting Al Ahly of Egypt in the Hard Rock stadium in the US.

FIFA’s decision to expand the tournament has been met with a wide range of controversy. From talk about the excessive number of matches for players competing to FIFA struggling to sell out tickets for matches, there has been many doubts about the tournament’s place in the football calendar.

The tournament will also mark a monumental change in the football broadcasting landscape. British sports streaming company DAZN was chosen as the main broadcaster of the Club World Cup, and has exclusive rights to show all 63 games of the tournament to a global audience free of charge.

Many were surprised by FIFA’s decision to choose DAZN, a relatively new streaming company, as the exclusive broadcaster for their new landmark competition. So why are DAZN showing the competition, and what impact will it have on the football broadcasting ecosystem?

How did DAZN acquire the FIFA Club World Cup broadcast rights?

In December 2024, DAZN paid FIFA $1bn for global rights to show the tournament on their platform. The streaming company would’ve expected to be met with competition from big-name streaming and broadcasting companies for the rights. However, they were surprisingly the only bidder in a deal which FIFA simply couldn’t refuse.

A month after gaining the rights for the Club World Cup, Saudi Arabia bought a 10% stake in DAZN for $1bn in what will effectively fund the tournament in the Unites States.

Apple was expected to be FIFA’s preferred choice, but the company pulled out from the deal 5 months earlier when an agreement could not be reached. When FIFA opened up the bidding process it was not met with strong interest from leading broadcasters, as many seemed to be put off by the uncertainty of if the tournament would succeed and have fan engagement.

So when DAZN made a bid for FIFA’s Club World Cup rights, it suited both parties. For DAZN, they will be able to benefit from the global fan presence and engagement that would come from the tournament. For fans to watch the tournament, they will need to register their platform on the site, and they will also become more familiar with DAZN’s products.

With the company already having the rights to show Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga, the Club World Cup offers an extra avenue for them to build their profile as a dedicated sports broadcaster.

For FIFA, they anticipate that the tournament being free to watch will increase engagement for the Club World Cup. By being the only club competition fans can watch entirely for free, it could potentially reach a market audience that many top European leagues and competitions simply do not reach due to pricing.

On the day of the tournament, FIFA and DAZN went a step further, announcing a partnership to launch FIFA + on DAZN, which will feature live matches, historic archives, original documentaries, and exclusive programming.

The circumstances in which the initial deal was agreed on may have turned many heads but as the link between FIFA and DAZN gets stronger, it could signal a shift in streaming for future tournaments.

What effect could the deal have on future football media rights agreements?

FIFA’s deal with DAZN reflects a major change from the traditional sports broadcasting agreements we have been accustomed to. DAZN has sub-licensed the rights to broadband channels Channel 5 in the UK and TNT in the USA, and the channels will show 23 and 24 games of the competition respectively. This will allow DAZN to recoup some of the money they spent to show the tournament.

The nature of this agreement becomes even more unique when we compare it to the top club football competitions.

For instance, in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League broadcast agreement in the UK, TNT Sports had the bulk of the games, showing 187 of the 204 matches. The 17 remaining games were shown by streaming company Amazon Prime, while BBC had rights to highlights on Wednesday nights.

Similarly, in the 2024-25 Premier League season, Sky Sports had the lion’s share of the rights, showing 128 matches. TNT Sports showed 52 of the games while Amazon Prime had the rights for 20 games.

DAZN’s deal reflects a power swing in sports media agreements which we haven’t seen before, and it could favour them long term. Although broadband TV channels were not keen on taking on the rights, if the tournament does go on to be a success, this model could stay in place for subsequent FIFA tournaments.

Traditional broadcasters may have passed up the opportunity to show FIFA’s Club World Cup, but as DAZN continues to strengthen its relationship with FIFA, they may have less of a grip on future tournament media rights.

What are the legal implications of DAZN’s broadcast deal?

One of the key talking points about DAZN’s deal with FIFA is that all 63 games of the tournament will be free to air. A positive of this is that it reduces the scope of copyright infringement against DAZN’s broadcasts. As viewers can sign up to DAZN and have the license to watch the Club World Cup for free, it eliminates the incentive to illegally stream the tournament.

This is an issue which DAZN experienced themselves. In their previous agreement to show Ligue 1, they argued the league was not doing enough to effectively fight the piracy streaming frenzy in France. A survey from Odoxa found that 65% of French Football fans believed DAZN’s high prices were driving fans to illegally stream matches.

By DAZN showing the tournament for free, it will reduce their content from being infringed against while also allowing for the tournament to be as accessible as possible in a variety of markets. DAZN will be banking on this to drive fan interest throughout the tournament.

Additionally, DAZN faces the challenge of ensuring it effectively meets data privacy standards for its consumers. As they are the global home of the tournament, they will need to comply with relevant data protection regulations across multiple jurisdictions. It is expected that DAZN will have over 100 million people watching the tournament on its platform, and they will collect data on their users’ viewing habits, location and personal preferences.

According to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), DAZN will need to ensure it processes its users’ data lawfully, fairly and transparently under Article 5(1). DAZN must prove there is an appropriate lawful basis under which they store their users’  personal data. They must ensure fairness by handling data as their fans would expect by not deceiving or misleading them. They must also show transparency by being open and honest to users on their platform about how they process their data. Lastly, DAZN will need to ensure they do not store user data beyond what is necessary to avoid a breach of Article 6.

While these regulations relate to users in the UK, DAZN will need to ensure it meets data privacy regulations for worldwide users.

What can we expect in the future?

DAZN’s deal with FIFA could be the start of a new partnership which shapes the football broadcast industry. As the relationship between FIFA and DAZN gets stronger, it could birth the beginning of a collaboration which revolutionises football.

If the streaming deal is successful, it could also motivate companies such as UEFA to take up similar streaming deals for its tournaments.

The role Saudi Arabia plays in this is also important. With the 2034 FIFA World Cup set to be played in the country, if FIFA’s relationship with DAZN flourishes, there’s the possibility that the most coveted tournament in world football could be on the platform. And who knows? It could even happen before then.