The Iris Sport Media agency has successfully secured distribution rights across sub-Saharan Africa for the broadcast FIFA Club World Cup matches. This achievement comes as a result of a deal between Iris and DAZN, the worldwide subscription streaming service that previously secured exclusive global rights to the FIFA event.
In December last year, DAZN had acquired exclusive global rights to the Club World Cup at an estimated cost of around $1 billion. The upcoming tournament is set to be held in the United States across June and July this year.
Maximizing distribution and exposure
The agreement between Iris and DAZN covers both free-to-air (FTA) as well as pay-TV rights. To maximize distribution and exposure, Iris has partnered with Marketing & Media Solutions (MMS) and PC Plus Group firms. Both these firms have extensive experience operating across sub-Saharan Africa, having distributed FTA rights to African qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup in addition to World Athletics events.
Iris itself has been acting as a sales agent for African 2026 World Cup qualifiers for broadcasters in Americas, Europe, and Asia since November 2023.
Ioris Francini, Iris Sports Media’s founding partner, said:
“The continent has a real passion for the beautiful game and continues to produce top-class footballers successfully plying their trade for many of the best teams in the world. Together with our partners MMS and PC Plus Group Holding, we will offer a unique opportunity for broadcasters to show the best action from some of the top club sides in the world.”
Earlier this month, sports media veteran Lara Vanjak joined Iris as head of business development after serving most recently as executive vice president for rights and operations at DAZN.
Sub-licensing deals by DAZN
Last week saw an Egyptian sub-licensing deal unveiled between DAZN and MBC Group - a Saudi-owned FTA broadcaster - marking it as the second such deal by DAZN following an agreement with US-based Spanish language media giant TelevisaUnivision last month. This will allow all matches from this year’s tournament taking place in America to be broadcast on FTA channel MBC Egypt. The Club World Cup, which kicks off on June 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, will feature the top 32 clubs from around the world playing a total of 63 matches over a span of 29 days. Among the four African sides set to compete at the CWC this year, only South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will be representing sub-Saharan Africa.
Before DAZN stepped in, FIFA had struggled to secure a broadcast partner as many traditional media giants were unwilling to pick up the rights due to controversies surrounding the competition. Clubs and players have expressed discontent about additional games and workload leading to formal complaints and legal action by players' union FIFPRO last year.
The upcoming 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will introduce a new format where continental governing bodies, excluding Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), receive multiple team slots. Iris also has deals across sports including powerboating and curling outside of soccer.
