Stan Sport, the streaming service of Australian commercial broadcaster Nine Network, has enhanced its soccer offering with rights to the European qualifiers for next year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Under the deal, Stan Sport will exclusively air all 144 remaining pool fixtures, as well as every play-off match scheduled for March 2026.
Stan’s coverage starts on Friday (September 5) with four matches: Netherlands vs Poland, Slovakia vs Germany, Bulgaria vs Spain, and Liechtenstein vs Belgium.
The qualification format sees 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four, with nations playing each other home and away. The group winner will automatically qualify for the World Cup finals, with the remaining teams competing in play-offs.
Australia’s public broadcaster SBS holds the exclusive rights to air the World Cup finals, set to be staged across the US, Canada, and Mexico, and will broadcast all 104 games of the tournament via its SBS and SBS Viceland channels and SBS On Demand streaming platform.
The European qualifiers are the latest soccer rights to be acquired by Stan, having recently secured exclusive rights to England’s top-tier Premier League (EPL) and FA domestic cup as part of a sub-licensing agreement with Optus Sport, the streaming service of the Australian telecoms firm, which is divesting from its broadcast commitments.
Along with taking over the remaining three years of Optus’ current six-season contract for the EPL, that deal covers rights to Japan’s J.League, South Korea’s K League, and the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League.
Those were added to the broadcaster’s rights to all European soccer’s UEFA club competitions, including the top-tier Champions League, second-tier Europa League, third-tier Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup, as well as Germany’s top knockout soccer competition, DFB-Pokal.
Last week, Stan continued its soccer rights spree with a new multi-year deal for England’s top-tier Women’s Super League.
The rights come after Nine Entertainment, the parent company of Nine and Stan, posted revenue of $2.7 billion and a net profit after tax of $133 million in the 2025 financial year.
Other rights in the country held by Nine include rugby union’s English Premiership, the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, and SVNS; tennis’ Davis Cup; and motor racing’s Formula E, World Athletics Championships, and PFL mixed martial arts action.
