Millions of football fans across India face the prospect of missing next month’s World Cup, as Fifa officials are currently in the country attempting to finalise a broadcast deal.
The global governing body has yet to secure an agreement for the tournament, largely due to significant differences over pricing.
The deadlock means that, with the World Cup kicking off on 11 June, only three weeks remain to establish broadcast infrastructure and sell advertising inventory. This situation contrasts with China, where a broadcasting deal was struck last week, ending a similar standoff.
Sources familiar with Fifa’s plans confirm that media rights executives are in India, though the specifics of their meetings and agenda remain undisclosed. Fifa, in a statement to Reuters, confirmed it has concluded agreements in over 180 territories, adding that discussions in India regarding media rights were ongoing and “must remain confidential at this stage”.
Previous reports indicate that discussions between the Reliance-Disney joint venture, India’s largest media company, and Fifa have stalled. Reliance-Disney joint venture offered $20 million for the Fifa rights. That led to a disagreement because Fifa had initially sought $100 million but was last looking for around $60 million at least, Reuters has reported.
Sony, another major player in the Indian market, has refrained from bidding. The Reliance-Disney venture, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, declined to comment on whether a meeting with Fifa is scheduled.
Despite cricket’s dominance, football boasts a substantial following in India, with approximately 85 million fans compared to cricket’s 492 million, according to a 2024 report by Deloitte and Google.
India accounted for 2.9% of the global linear TV reach during the 2022 World Cup, underscoring the potential audience at stake.
The World Cup will be hosted in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and is due to run from 11 June to 19 July.
The opening game will see co-hosts Mexico face South Africa in Mexico City. This will be a repeat of the fixture that got the 2010 World Cup underway.
Thomas Tuchel’s England will play their first game against Croatia in Texas on 17 June, before going on to face Ghana and Panama in the group stage.
