BEVERLY HILL, January 15, (THEWILL) – World football governing body, FIFA, has simultaneously opened two invitations to tender (ITT) for the media rights to FIFA’s flagship men’s and women’s competitions: Men’s World Cup 2022 and the Women’s World Cup 2023, in Italy.
The 22nd edition of the men’s competition, which will be the FIFA World Cup 2022, is a unique edition, as it will be the first World Cup in the Middle East and the first to take place in the November/December period.
The host country, Qatar, will be a very special setting to celebrate the game and its ability to connect and inspire people around the world with state-of-the-art venues, optimal playing conditions and a compact event footprint. The tournament will feature 32 participating teams and 64 matches, offering a highly competitive group stage followed by an exciting knockout phase.
Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the new model FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. It will be the first-ever women’s competition to feature a 32-team format, which is an expansion from the previous model of 24 teams.
The Women’s World Cup has grown exponentially, since its inception in 1991, to claim the crown of the most-watched single-sport event for women globally. The France 2019 edition attracted a record audience of over 1.1 billion viewers, smashing domestic viewing figures in many territories across the world.
FIFA will use the tender processes to select media companies that are best suited to secure the required transmission commitments and to achieve FIFA’s objectives of providing broad exposure for its competitions and offering fans a high-quality viewing experience with every match and at every venue.
The sale of media rights for its football tournaments is one source of income generation for FIFA. These funds are essential for the work the governing body does in supporting and developing football around the world.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
