Exclusive broadcast rights to the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Fifa Club World Cup have been acquired by Singtel Optus, the Australia -based telecommunications company, for its OTT service Optus Sport.
The agreement will take effect with rights to next month’s tournament, which will be held in Doha, the Qatari capital.
Optus director of sport Richard Bayliss said:”These new rights show our commitment to showing Australians the best clubs from around the world on Optus Sport. Broadcasting Liverpool’s sixth Champions League triumph was a massive moment for Optus Sport, and it will be a privilege for us to show the Reds’ attempt to overcome the best of South America, Asia, North America and Africa.”
The telco has signed rights for exclusive coverage of all English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and FA Women’s Super League games, and Bayliss said it had secured more than 700,000 active subscribers to its services. It will also show 51 matches of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament live.
News of this agreement coincides with announcements that beIN Media Group, the Qatar-based pay-TV broadcaster, has secured the rights across the Middle East and North Africa to the 2019 and 2020 tournaments. The BBC, a public-service broadcaster, has also secured the rights in the UK to the 2019 tournament recently.
The 2019 Club World Cup will be staged in Qatar for the first time in its history as three stadiums – including two 2022 Fifa World Cup venues (the Education City Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium) – play host to matches. Qatar will also stage the 2020 edition before China stages the first edition of the expanded quadrennial version in 2021.
Al Sadd, the Qatari club, will be competing in the tournament alongside the champions of Europe (Liverpool), South America (Flamengo), the Concacaf region (C.F. Monterrey), Africa (ES Tunis), Oceania (Hienghene Sport) and Asia (Al Hilal).