Saudi money deepens FIFA $1bn TV rights

FIFA’s 2025 annual report put a hard number on the sport’s biggest commercial lever: television broadcasting rights brought in $1.044 billion last year, including $1.001 billion in global broadcasting revenue. The figure came from a year in which FIFA launched its expanded 32-team Club World Cup and handed exclusive global rights for the tournament to DAZN. That broadcaster now has Saudi-backed capital on its shareholder register after SURJ Sports Investment, a Public Investment Fund company, agreed in February 2025 to buy a minority stake in the platform. ### How much of FIFA’s 2025 revenue came from TV rights? FIFA’s note on broadcasting revenue showed $1.044 billion from television rights in 2025, split between $33.1 million in regional rights sales, $1.001 billion in global broadcasting revenue and smaller amounts of other broadcasting and event-related revenue. The governing body said comparisons with prior years were not meaningful because rights are recognized when the event is broadcast and should be viewed across the four-year cycle. (quality.fifa.com) FIFA’s financial review said revenue performance in the third year of the 2023-2026 cycle was strong and positioned the organization to surpass its record four-year budget. That helps explain why control of distribution remains central to FIFA’s commercial model. ### Why does DAZN sit in the middle of this story? (quality.fifa.com) FIFA announced on December 4, 2024 that DAZN had signed an exclusive global agreement to broadcast the 2025 Club World Cup. The deal covered all 63 matches, made them free to view worldwide on DAZN and allowed for sublicensing to local free-to-air broadcasters. (inside.fifa.com) DAZN said the agreement marked the start of a broader partnership with FIFA, including the integration of FIFA+ content into the DAZN platform. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the time that the arrangement would make the tournament the “most widely accessible” club competition, while DAZN Chief Executive Shay Segev called it the start of a long-term relationship with FIFA. (fifa.com) ### Where does Saudi money enter the broadcast chain? SURJ Sports Investment said on February 17, 2025 that it had agreed to acquire a minority stake in DAZN. DAZN said the two sides would also work to establish DAZN MENA, a joint venture for sports broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa. PIF’s football page says SURJ owns a minority stake in DAZN and describes the platform as a rights holder of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. (dazngroup.com) That means Saudi state-backed capital is tied not only to clubs, sponsorships and domestic competitions, but also to a distributor carrying one of FIFA’s newest global properties. ### How did FIFA and PIF extend those ties this month? (dazngroup.com) FIFA and PIF said on May 14, 2026 that PIF had become an Official Tournament Supporter of the 2026 World Cup in North America and Asia. FIFA said the announcement built on a “successful FIFA Club World Cup 2025 partnership,” while PIF said the arrangement would also include portfolio companies Savvy Games Group and Qiddiya City. (pif.gov.sa) Associated Press, in a report published May 14 and carried by multiple outlets, said the value of the World Cup 2026 support deal was not disclosed. The report also noted that SURJ owns a stake in DAZN, which broadcast the Club World Cup. ### What did FIFA say the Club World Cup was worth? FIFA Council decisions published on March 5, 2025 said the revised budget for the Club World Cup incorporated $2 billion in revenues. (inside.fifa.com) FIFA also approved a $1 billion prize-money pot for the 32 participating clubs, with up to $125 million available to the winner, plus a separate solidarity target for club football. (abcnews.com) The tournament itself ran from June 14 to July 13, 2025, with 32 clubs and 63 matches across 12 U.S. venues, according to FIFA and DAZN. Those dates matter because FIFA recognizes much of its broadcasting income when the event is actually shown. ### What comes next in the FIFA-Saudi commercial pipeline? (inside.fifa.com) The next major checkpoint is the 2026 World Cup, where PIF is now an official tournament supporter in North America and Asia. FIFA said that partnership was announced on May 14, 2026 and explicitly linked it to the Club World Cup relationship that preceded it. (inside.fifa.com) (fifa.com)