Football Malaysia, the organising body of club football competition in the country, has secured a landmark rights deal with online streaming service iflix.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the Goal.com website said it will run for 10 years, from 2018 to 2027, and is worth RM300m (€62.34m/$76.28m).
A new Football Malaysia on iflix channel will deliver action from the entire professional football season, including 22 rounds with six matches weekly for the top-tier Liga Super, 74 matches from knockout competitions the Piala FA and Piala Malaysia, as well as select second-tier Liga Premier matches and the Piala Sumbangsih match, the annual curtain-raiser to the season.
In addition to live streamed matches, users will be able to access new features, including match highlights and player interviews.
Under the terms of the deal, any fan with internet access will be able to live stream four Liga Super matches every week along with 46 Piala FA and Piala Malaysia matches and select Liga Premier matches for free, regardless of their subscription status.
New users and those with an active iflix subscription will be able to access all matches and features.
Football Association of Malaysia president and Football Malaysia chairman, the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim, said, according to the World Screen website: “Football is the people’s game. It brings us together and can help to unite us. Malaysians everywhere should be able to enjoy it without restriction. With iflix, we have found like-minded partners and a key common goal; to return football to the people and restore its former glory.”
iflix Group co-founder and chairman, Patrick Grove, added: “This collaboration with Football Malaysia represents exactly what we created iflix to achieve. Together, we will democratise the game, making football available for the first time to fans, regardless of geographic location and financial status. For the first time ever, all premier Malaysian football matches will be available live on a single platform.”