The agreement is the first to be signed in FIFA’s media rights distribution process for the two World Cups. Coming just a few weeks after the host country announcement in December, the deal sees the Qatar-based broadcaster secure the rights to the 2022 tournament which will be staged in its home country.
The agreement with Al Jazeera covers cable, satellite, terrestrial, mobile and broadband internet transmission across 23 territories and countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Moreover, Al Jazeera Sport has made a commitment to FIFA that the matches of the 2022 World Cup will be widely accessible for football fans across the Middle East and North Africa.
Al Jazeera Sport has been a FIFA licensee since 2009 and this new extension of the rights means that the channel can now tailor its programming over three consecutive World Cups. Financial details behind the deal were not revealed.
“Al Jazeera Sport more than proved its commitment to delivering high-calibre coverage to football fans during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA secretary general. “FIFA’s aim is to make the World Cup as accessible to as many people around the world as possible – and for this we thankfully have an immensely strong partner in Al Jazeera Sport for the Middle East and North Africa.”
Nasser Al Khelaifi, general manager of Al Jazeera Sport, added: “We are very excited about this deal as it is great news for football fans throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa who will now be guaranteed the very best programming of the world’s most followed sports event.”
