New Delhi, June 1: In a big relief for the football fans in India, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be broadcast live in the country as the world governing body and the ‘Z’ group on Monday reached an agreement just 10 days before the start of the showpiece on June 11.
The World Cup, to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, will be broadcast live on television by Zee Entertainment through their newly launched Unite8 Sports network, while live streaming will be available on Zee 5 app.
The 2026 World Cup broadcast agreement was part of a deal that covers major FIFA tournaments to audiences in India until 2034.
The tournaments include 2030 World Cup to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with special centenary celebration matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, 2027 Women’s World Cup, among others.
“FIFA and ‘Z’ announce agreement to bring FIFA World Cup 2026 and major FIFA tournaments to audiences in India until 2034,” a joint statement said.
“The partnership will see matches and related programming distributed across ‘Z’’s linear television channels (UNITE8 Sports) and digital platform (Zee 5), with multi-language coverage designed to increase accessibility and fan engagement across India, including for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Under the partnership, ‘Z’ will deliver coverage of 39 FIFA events across this period, spanning men’s, women’s and youth competitions.
These also include the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup, the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cups, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, alongside the flagship FIFA World Cup tournaments. The agreement also covers documentary content linked to these competitions.
“Through this agreement, FIFA aims to strengthen the visibility of its competitions in India — led by the FIFA World Cup 2026 — and connect with a growing and passionate football audience by leveraging ‘Z’’s established broadcast and digital ecosystem,” said the statement. (PTI)
