FIFA World Cup 2026: Will a third of the world be kept in the dark?

With just one month left until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over millions of football fans in Asia, raising a key question: Will nearly a third of the world’s population be able to attend football’s biggest event?Many football-mad regions, including India, China and Thailand, have yet to finalize broadcast rights for the tournament, which kicks off in North America on June 11. The postponement has raised concerns that hundreds of millions of people could miss out even as the World Cup expands to a record 48 teams and 104 matches.

Late night kick-off, high costs stymie dealOne of the biggest obstacles is timing. The game will be broadcast at an unfavorable time in Asia as the tournament takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The opening games – and possibly the final – are scheduled to take place at 3:00 am in Beijing and Shanghai, and at 12:30 pm in New Delhi.Lidiffusion chairman Sandeep Goyal told AFP he was “aware of some discussions between FIFA and Indian broadcasters”. “The first issue is game time,” he said.“Bigger and better quality matches are played at 12:30 am or 3:30 am. A few matches are played at 6:30 am. Apart from die-hard fans, the viewership of matches in India is likely to be low. Hence, the monetization opportunities for channels go down significantly,” Goyal added.According to him, JioStar, India’s largest media group, has bid about US$20 million for broadcast rights, which is far lower than the initial expectations of US$100 million for broadcast rights in 2026 and 2030 reported by FIFA.Goyal said: “The final deal price may be much lower than FIFA expected.”As pressure mounts, government steps inIt’s a similar story in China, where no deal has been announced yet despite strong interest. The country accounted for nearly half of the global viewing time of the 2022 digital World Cup, underscoring the scale of the potential impact.In Thailand, the issue has even risen to a political level. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul assured fans that they would not miss the World Cup, saying: “Successive governments have ensured free participation in the World Cup and my government should not be an exception.”However, Malaysia has confirmed coverage, bringing some relief to the region.Experts say: ‘The deal will be done’Despite the uncertainty, experts believe a power outage remains unlikely. James Walton of Deloitte Asia Pacific told AFP such delays were common.“This happens every cycle…Broadcasters want to get the best deal because they need to balance costs with advertising revenue,” he said. “The reality is that for most countries not hosting a World Cup is almost unthinkable.”Walton added that governments and FIFA have strong incentives to ensure maximum coverage, warning that a lack of access could even encourage piracy.Meanwhile, FIFA said it had secured broadcast deals in more than 175 countries, with negotiations still ongoing in the remaining markets.