Global soccer’s governing body, FIFA, has initiated a tender process for media rights to the 2026 and 2030 editions of its men's national teams World Cup in Ireland. This move follows the successful coverage of the previous edition of the tournament by public-service broadcaster RTE.
The tender covers both editions of this iconic tournament. The 2026 World Cup is set to take place across Mexico, the US, and Canada. Meanwhile, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will predominantly host the 2030 edition. Additionally, three games from that World Cup will be staged in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.
Interested parties can contact ireland-media-rights@fifa.org to obtain relevant invitation-to-tender (ITT) documents. The deadline for bid submissions is set at 11:00 Central European Time on November 5.
RTE's previous coverage
RTE held sole live rights to cover live action from Qatar's men’s World Cup in 2022 in Ireland. This network has been a long-term home for this event in Ireland since it struck a deal covering both the tournaments' editions as early as back in 2012.
RTE also covered UEFA Euro matches earlier this year - an event which saw no participation from Ireland either due to their failure to qualify.vThe deal with RTE was valued by GlobalData Sport at €6.5 million ($7.17 million at that time).
In terms of recent media rights agreements for future tournaments; Dutch public-service broadcaster NOS was announced as the holder of rights for both upcoming tournaments' editions – i.e., those taking place during years; '26 & '30 – within Netherlands territory just last month (mid-September).
FIFA's new strategy
In a significant shift in strategy, FIFA announced in June that it would be selling its media rights directly in the Asian market for the first time. Previously, these rights were sold on behalf of FIFA by sports marketing heavyweight Infront, which is now being used solely in an advisory capacity.
The European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup are set to begin next March. A total of 16 slots at the expanded 48-team tournament will be available for European sides. Despite Ireland's failure to qualify for both Qatar and Russia tournaments, Irish fans and sports betting enthusiasts eagerly await these upcoming events.
