FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, has initiated a series of tenders in the Philippines for media rights to three major tournaments. The bidding process is open until 10 am (Central European Time) on December 10.
The tenders include rights to broadcast men's soccer's 2026 World Cup matches which are set to take place in Mexico, the US, and Canada. Also included are rights to air the Women’s World Cup (WWC) scheduled for Brazil in 2027. Additionally, another tender covers broadcasting rights for next year's Futsal Women’s World Cup where the Philippines will be hosting.
Interested companies can participate by contacting philippines-media-rights@fifa.org before the bid submission deadline. In contrast with previous FIFA rights sales cycles in Southeast Asia where Infront played a significant role as a seller of these media rights, this time around FIFA is directly dealing with broadcasters. However, Infront continues its involvement but now as an advisory entity. This move marks one of FIFA's final Asian tender processes for its much-anticipated 2026 World Cup event. Concurrently today (November 19), Portugal also reaches its deadline for a similar media right tender concerning this tournament.
First South American WWC
For WWC enthusiasts and stakeholders alike, it is noteworthy that FIFA recently launched a tender covering media rights to their first-ever South American-based tournament -the WWC slated for Brazil in 2027- specifically targeting US audiences who represent arguably women's soccer largest market.
In recent history within Philippine borders; Tap DMV aired live broadcasts of Qatar’s men’s World Cup held last year while pay-TV network Cignal TV covered Australia and New Zealand’s edition of WWC held earlier this year.
Philippines' World Cup journey
The 2023 WWC marked a significant milestone for the Philippines as they made their debut. Despite not advancing past the group stage, the team managed to secure their first-ever WWC win against hosts New Zealand. However, in men's soccer, the country has yet to qualify for a World Cup and was recently eliminated from contention for the 2026 tournament during Asia-zone qualifying.
In terms of recent developments in World Cup media rights deals; late October saw an announcement by the European Broadcast Union unveiling rights to broadcast both 2026 and 2030 editions in four territories – Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary – and exclusively for just the 2026 tournament in Israel.
