FIFA World Cup strikes broadcast deal with Zee Entertainment in India
World Cup football will have a new home in India after FIFA awarded broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 men’s tournaments, the 2027 Women’s World Cup and dozens of other competitions to Zee Entertainment in a long-term agreement running through 2034.
The deal gives Zee exclusive rights to distribute 39 FIFA events across television and digital platforms in one of the sport’s most important emerging markets, ensuring extensive coverage of the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026.
Alongside the next three senior World Cups, the agreement includes a range of men’s, women’s and youth competitions, including FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, FIFA Women’s U-17 and U-20 World Cups, FIFA Futsal World Cups and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Matches and related content will be carried across Zee’s sports television network and streaming platform Zee5, with coverage available in multiple languages as FIFA looks to accelerate football’s growth in India.
FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Gai described the World Cup as “the greatest show on earth” and said India represented a strategically important market for the governing body.
“The Indian market is of strategic importance for FIFA as it displays immense potential driven by a young and passionate audience,” Gai said.
Zee Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka said the company viewed football as a long-term growth opportunity and had invested heavily in securing premium sports rights.
The agreement comes as FIFA continues to expand the commercial reach of its competitions ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico and feature a record 48 national teams.
Despite India missing out on qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after finishing behind Qatar and Kuwait in the second round of AFC qualifying, the tournament is still expected to be a major betting event across the country.
FIFA’s new broadcast deal gives Zee access to football’s biggest competitions in a market of roughly 1.47 billion people, where interest in international football continues to grow despite the national team’s struggles on the pitch.
