FIFA, the global soccer governing body, has confirmed its broadcast partners for the final phase of its women’s club competition, the inaugural Champions Cup, which will be held as a four-team event in January and February.
FIFA announced that its close affiliate, DAZN, the sports streaming service, will provide free-to-air coverage of the mini tournament in most territories, excluding the home markets of the four teams involved – the UK, Morocco, the US, and Brazil – as well as China.
The teams involved are Arsenal (England), winners of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, ASFAR (Morocco), winners of the CAF Champions League, Concacaf champions Gotham FC (US), and Conmebol champions SC Corinthians (Brazil)
Coverage in the UK and Ireland will be provided by pay-TV giant Sky Sports, while CazeTV, the sports streaming channel run by YouTuber Casemiro Miguel, has picked up rights in Brazil.
FIFA said the domestic broadcasters that will provide coverage in Morocco and the US will be announced soon.
FIFA’s chief football officer Jill Ellis said: “With world-class players, iconic clubs and a truly global stage, the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup marks a defining moment for women’s club football.
“We’re delighted to partner with premium broadcasters who’ll play a vital role in showcasing the final stage of this new tournament – which is visionary, ambitious, impactful, and deeply connected to fans and communities everywhere – to the world.”
There are only four matches scheduled to take place during the first-ever Champions Cup - two semi-finals, a third-place playoff, and then the final - all set to take place between January 28 and February 1 in London, UK.
The semi-finals will be staged at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, while Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium will host the third-place play-off and the final.
Last month, it was reported by the UK’s Guardian publication that FIFA had not yet managed to sell the rights to the competition, with FIFA choosing to forego a tender process in favor of choosing specific broadcast partners in several key markets.
However, DAZN has once again come to FIFA’s rescue, having struck a similar agreement covering global rights to the men’s inaugural Club World Cup held in the US last year after initially struggling to secure a broadcast partner.
At the time, many traditional media giants were unwilling to pick up the rights as the competition proved controversial with many of soccer’s major stakeholders, with clubs and players unhappy about the extra games and workload.
The Champions Cup, meanwhile, has been touted as the forerunner to a full Women's Club World Cup, which FIFA will launch in 2028 and will take place every four years (the slimmed-down Champions Cup will be held in the other three years of each cycle).
The first Women’s Club World Cup is set to feature Arsenal, Gotham FC, and Wuhan Jiangda as part of the 16-team lineup, with the tournament staged every four years.
