DAZN has come to the rescue of FIFA by agreeing to a reported $1 billion deal to acquire the exclusive global broadcast rights to next summer’s Club World Cup.

The UK-based streaming service, which has made losses of several billion dollars, plans to broadcast all 63 games for free. The FIFA Club World Cup, which has been at the center of much controversy, will feature 32 teams from six confederations competing to be crowned the club world champion.

Among the teams qualified for the competition, it includes Inter Miami (starring Lionel Messi), Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Palmeiras, Manchester City, River Plate, and 25 other clubs.

The Club World Cup begins June 15 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (with Inter Miami playing in the opening game) and runs until July 13, with the final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New York.

DAZN’s option for a TV partnership

In a statement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the competition as “the most widely accessible club soccer tournament ever.” While that may be true based on potential audience, DAZN is relatively unknown in the United States. Sublicensing games to over-the-air television broadcasters in the United States may be necessary to bridge the gap for FIFA.

DAZN (pronounced Da-Zone) currently streams boxing and MMA on its paid platform ($29.99/month) in the U.S. where its brand recognition is very low. That’s in contrast to Europe where DAZN is a major player, streaming the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, and Serie A throughout several countries.

By DAZN acquiring the rights to the Club World Cup, it reduces the risk for potential television broadcasters. DAZN has fronted the reported $1 billion rights fee, freeing up a television broadcaster to strike a sub-license deal.

Currently, in the United States, DAZN has very little focus on the Spanish-language audience, so a hypothetical deal for DAZN to sub-license games to TelevisaUnivision and/or Telemundo would make sense. That’s especially true when you consider the competition features fan-favorites Inter Miami, Real Madrid, River Plate, Boca Juniors, and Monterrey.

An English-language TV broadcaster would be interested now especially after DAZN has done the heavy lifting of signing the reported $1 billion rights fee.

Another benefit of DAZN potentially sub-licensing games to a U.S. television broadcaster is reach. FIFA needs a broadcaster who can create excitement and awareness for next summer’s competition. If it’s just DAZN talking about the competition on its streaming service, very few people will see or hear that message. FIFA and DAZN both need U.S. television partners to make American audiences aware that the Club World Cup is coming stateside. DAZN cannot do it alone.

DAZN to expand its FIFA content

Another option for DAZN is to broadcast much of its free content on YouTube. Currently, that’s the strategy that DAZN has been using to broadcast much of its women’s soccer content. Instead of putting it behind the less well-known DAZN paywall, it makes it available for free on YouTube.

Meanwhile, as part of DAZN’s acquisition of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup rights, it also means the end of FIFA+. According to DAZN, the partnership between FIFA and DAZN “includes integrating FIFA+, FIFA’s library of iconic soccer moments and full-match replays, as well as live fixtures, into the DAZN platform.”

Up until Wednesday before a broadcast partner was found, FIFA planned to stream the Club World Cup Draw on FIFA.com and FIFA+.

Instead, fans worldwide can now watch the draw for free on Thursday from 1 PM ET via DAZN.com as well as via the DAZN app.

Analysis: FIFA faces several Club World Cup stumbling blocks

DAZN has saved FIFA the embarrassment of not having any broadcaster willing to air the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

The last-minute deal only announced one day before the draw for the Club World Cup raises questions about the financial viability of DAZN, which is financed by Russian-Ukrainian billionaire Len Blavatnik. According to Bloomberg, DAZN is aiming to raise up to $1 billion from external investors. At the same time, there have been several reports from industry insiders that Saudi Arabia is interested in using its Public Investment Fund to invest in DAZN.

FIFA has solved the issue of finding a broadcaster to stream the competition, but that’s just the start of several major issues for the revamped tournament.

Those challenges include:

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is running in parallel with the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which is also scheduled to be played in the United States next summer. Club World Cup matches are scheduled to be played in the afternoons in stadiums on or near the East Coast. Meanwhile, Gold Cup games are mostly scheduled in the Midwest and West Coast in the evenings and late at night. While that plan helps with ticket sales, the abundance of games daily from both competitions could hurt overall viewership.

In the same manner, there isn’t much public interest or pent-up demand for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Fans of individual clubs are excited, but as we’ve repeatedly seen from previous Club World Cups, the interest in the competition based on TV viewership is minuscule. FIFA and DAZN have a lot of selling to do to convince fans to watch.

Last but not least, FIFA faces several legal challenges to the competition from player unions who are pushing back. For instance, FIFPro has filed a legal claim against FIFA claiming that “Players and their unions have consistently highlighted the current [soccer] calendar as overloaded and unworkable.”

Photo credit: IMAGO / Avalon.red and IMAGO / Future Image