Global soccer's governing body FIFA has now taken its media rights tender process for the 2027 Women's World Cup (WWC) to Canada, one of women's soccer's traditional powerhouse markets.
A tender has now been launched in that market, covering broadcast rights to both the 2027 edition of the WWC – to be held in Brazil – and the 2031 tournament, as yet without a host nation.
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FIFA has said that while the tender is primarily focused on the event in two years' time, bidders are also invited to submit additional offers to cover the 2031 WWC. This marks the first time WWC media rights are taken to Canada on a standalone basis – up to this point, they have been packaged alongside men's World Cups.
The deadline for bid submissions is July 10 at 19:00 Central European Time, and interested parties will be able to request the necessary documentation by emailing canada-media-rights@fifa.org.
Canada did not make it out of the group stages at the 2023 WWC, held across Australia and New Zealand, but did qualify for the knockout stages in 2019, before losing in the round-of-16 to Sweden.
The Concacaf (North and Central America, and the Caribbean) qualification cycle for the 2027 WWC gets underway later this year, via qualfying for the Concacaf W Championship, which will take place next November and will serve as the main vehicle for WWC entry.
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By GlobalDataIn terms of Canadian coverage of the Women's World Cup two years ago, rights were held by the Bell Media group, in a wider deal that also covers the men's World Cup in 2026 (which Canada will co-host).
In the neighboring US, exclusive 2027 and 2031 WWC rights were bought by streaming giant Netflix late last year, in a major tie-up reflecting the platform's continued slow but steady move into live sports.
The 2027 edition will take place in Brazil from June 24 through July 25 of that year, while the 2031 host nation will be selected in mid-2025, with the US among the interested parties bidding. Mid-May saw the news that the 2031 edition will feature 48 teams, a 50% increase from the current number of 32.
Meanwhile, last week Deutsche Telekom, the German telecommunications giant, unveiled a wide-ranging package of FIFA rights, including games from both the 2026 and 2027 tournaments.
This marks the first time that DT will hold the rights for a WWC, although to comply with German broadcasting law (which necessitates free-to-air coverage of fixtures involving the German national team in such major competitions), it is likely to sub-license rights out to free-to-air broadcasters.
