DAZN, the global sports subscription platform, and public-service broadcaster Rai are closing in on securing rights in Italy to soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the country's national team's participation in the flagship event still in doubt.
Italian media have reported that DAZN and Rai are in final-stage negotiations to acquire packages of rights to the top-tier soccer tournament, to be held across June and July in Mexico, the US, and Canada.
A source with knowledge of the situation then confirmed to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) that DAZN is in the last set of contract negotiations around a deal, with confirmation expected by the end of February.
DAZN would be adding World Cup rights in Italy to those already secured in both Japan (announced last December) and Spain (announced earlier this month). In Japan, DAZN will air all 104 games from the tournament, while in Spain it will do the same through a deal with Mediapro.
The sports streamer is already a mainstay of soccer broadcasting in Italy, where it covers the top domestic Serie A league in a deal running through the 2028-29 season.
For Rai, meanwhile, it has been reported that the network will acquire the rights to a package of games from the World Cup, including all of Italy's potential fixtures - should their national team qualify through the playoff encounters they face next month. Rai covered the last World Cup, in Qatar four years ago (which Italy did not qualify for either).
Given that the Italian rights will be allocated before those playoffs, whichever network/s snap up the rights will be taking a gamble, with Italy's involvement at that point still set to be up in the air.
Italy face Northern Ireland in a playoff semi-final on March 26 in Bergamo, and if they win will then take on the winner of Wales versus Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the victor in that final qualifying for the World Cup.
The national team's failure to qualify would - in all likelihood - lead to a decrease in viewing figures and advertising revenue for whoever does buy the rights, compared to if they were present.
FIFA launched its invitation to tender (ITT) process for World Cup rights in Italy in mid-October, with a submission deadline of November 25.
Staggeringly, Italy - considered one of the foremost soccer nations in Europe - have not taken part in a men's FIFA World Cup since 2014.
In terms of recent rights deals for this year's edition, February has already seen Singaporean state broadcaster Mediacorp agree terms to show all 104 matches.
That agreement also covers action from the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as well as a range of additional FIFA events taking place between 2026 and 2028, including the U-17 and U-20 World Cups, and the U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups.
