The FIFA Women’s World Cup is coming to streaming. ESPN is reporting that Netflix and FIFA have agreed on a deal that will give Netflix the United States broadcasting rights for the next two FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments.
The 2027 tournament is set to take place in Brazil, and no host country has been named for 2031, but the U.S. is expected to place a bid. This represents the first time that FIFA has unbundled the broadcasting rights to the women’s tournament from the men’s tournament. Fox has broadcasting rights to the men’s tournament through 2026.
“This is a landmark moment for sports media rights,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “As a marquee brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women’s football. This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game. FIFA and Netflix partnering together makes this a truly historic day for broadcasting and for women’s football.”
No dollar amount was given for the deal, although reports suggest that the women’s tournament has struggled to find high-dollar bidders.
In the past, FIFA tournaments have been broadcast on free-to-access channels designed to maximize their audience. Now, you’ll need a Netflix subscription to access the games.
As has been the case for previous editions of the tournament, the 2027 tournament will take place over the course of a month in the summer of 2027. It will include 32 teams and consiste of 64 games that combine group play and a bracketed tournament. The U.S. women’s team has been dominant during previous iterations of the tournament, but faltered in 2023.
