DAZN secures option for 2029 Club World Cup rights

DAZN has secured an exclusive option to acquire global streaming rights for the 2029 men’s Club World Cup, positioning the platform to continue its relationship with FIFA after broadcasting the inaugural expanded tournament.The arrangement gives DAZN a route to the next edition’s rights rather than establishing that it has exercised the option or completed an unconditional acquisition.The development follows DAZN’s US$1bn agreement for worldwide rights to the 2025 competition, which provided a substantial financial underpinning for FIFA’s first 32-team Club World Cup.That tournament carried a US$1bn prize fund, with winners Chelsea receiving approximately US$114m after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final.DAZN entered the 2025 process after discussions with Apple failed over valuation and FIFA struggled to generate sufficient interest in regional rights packages.Saudi Arabia’s Surj Sports Investment acquired a 10% stake in DAZN, with that investment linked to the platform’s ability to commit to the tournament.The new option offers FIFA greater visibility over a potential broadcast partner as preparations continue for 2029, but significant decisions about the competition remain outstanding.The host country has not been announced, while FIFA and participating clubs have discussed expanding the field to 48 teams without settling the tournament’s size or format.The competition’s commercial governance is also unfinished, with FIFA and European Football Clubs (EFC) yet to agree the detailed terms of a proposed joint venture to manage its business operations.Those discussions have been complicated by the fallout from FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal to introduce private investors into the commercial rights of its competitions.EFC threatened to withdraw support for the Club World Cup during that dispute and separately raised concerns over delays in distributing US$250m in solidarity payments associated with the 2025 tournament.In correspondence, the organisation expressed “serious concern and disappointment” that those funds remained outstanding more than a year after the event.Relations between EFC and FIFA are understood to have improved since the investment proposal was withdrawn, although the joint venture arrangements could remain on hold until after March’s FIFA presidential election.For DAZN, the option continues its pursuit of major international rights despite substantial operating losses.Its 2025 accounts showed an operating loss of US$939.8m, up from US$772.9m over the previous year, underlining the financial demands of its expansion strategy.The next Club World Cup is scheduled for summer 2029, with DAZN’s option providing a potential continuation of the global streaming model used in 2025 while FIFA works to finalise the competition around it.