ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – DECEMBER 13: A view of FIFA World Cup 26′ Winner Trophy as draw for the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers kicks off in the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland on December 13, 2024. The opponents of the Turkish National Football Team will be determined. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu via Getty Images
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is just weeks away, yet the event does not yet have a media partner in one of the world’s biggest markets for soccer.
This week, Reuters’ Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil covered how FIFA officials were on the ground in India to try and finalize a deal. But the two sides are still not aligned on price.
At nearly 1.48 billion people, India has the second-largest population in the world. And while the nation has never participated in the World Cup, it still has a fervent soccer audience by size alone.
The Reuters piece notes that India accounted for 2.9% of global reach during the 2022 men’s event. India has an even larger footprint, though when it comes to soccer content on another platform: YouTube.
A Case For YouTube
On YouTube, Indian content (created by accounts in India) already outpaces videos in the United States.
Data provided to Forbes by Tubular Labs shows that year-to-date, Indian YouTube videos have 100 billion more video views on about 5.4 million more uploads than those in the U.S.
Looking at soccer videos specifically since July 1, 2025, Tubular reveals that Indian content also accounts for 3.7% of YouTube views in that stretch. The country’s 11.8 billion soccer video views are No. 7 overall – not far off from defending World Cup champion Argentina’s 12.4 billion, despite just 60% as many video uploads.
The rest of the list of top countries is largely made up of perennial powers in the sport, save for the U.S. (which is one of the event’s three cohosts this year). India’s ability to compete in terms of video viewing highlights a fan base that FIFA can’t miss. And how YouTube may be the best way to reach them.
Notably, though, it does not appear that YouTube is among the suitors for the game rights despite a deal allowing global rights holders to air the first 10 minutes of live action on the platform.
LUSAIL CITY, QATAR – DECEMBER 18: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Winner’s Trophy on Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero’s shoulders after the team’s victory during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by David Ramos – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA via Getty Images
International Impasse
Right now in India, a Reliance-Disney joint $20 million bid is the primary offer, according to Reuters. FIFA was apparently looking for at least $60 million.
By comparison, FIFA recently struck a rights agreement in China for $60 million, falling short of its larger goals in that market. In the U.S., Fox paid $425 million total for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but about 10% more for the 2026 event when the deal was extended way back in 2015.
Sports are big globally. Yet, you could argue they’re biggest in the United States, where the airwaves are dominated by both college and professional sports day and night. Live game rights have ballooned across the board domestically and have even taken over TV’s Upfronts. As a result, what FIFA can get for rights in the U.S. is not indicative of its abilities in other markets.
Capitalizing on buying power in the U.S. is also what’s fueled record-high ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, though. And as is the case with India’s media rights push-back, the market demand is simply saying no to the exorbitant costs.
Without a competitive bid beyond the Reliance-Disney venture, FIFA may have to either take whatever money it can get in India at this late stage. Or risk missing the market altogether.
The latter option is not recommended.
Risks of Losing India
The size of India’s population and soccer audiences make it an important market for FIFA, whether it is the largest remaining country without a World Cup rights holder or not.
An expanded World Cup field potentially makes it easier for India to make the tournament in future years. And if and when it does, the fan base is already there to be excited and engaged.
It will be more invested, however, if younger audiences are already exposed to the World Cup – something that FIFA can make happen while getting paid $20 million.
Even if short of FIFA’s initial goals for an agreement, that’s still $20 million more than it has right now from a deal to air games in India. What’s more, it adds to the sport’s ongoing under-monetization problem.
Globally, soccer does not make the same amount of revenue per fan as it could. Missing out on a few hundred million viewers in India during this World Cup could equate to a loss of $300 million for FIFA on the most conservative end of $1 per fan.
On top of that, lacking an option to watch legally in India further fuels piracy concerns in a country were 55% of audiences already stream content illegally. Soccer is already in a constant battle against piracy. Giving Indian audiences another reason to both watch and potentially distribute pirated World Cup feeds seems short-sighted at best.
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From a math perspective, it simply doesn’t make sense for FIFA to hold out much longer given those residual revenues from taking the perceived “lesser” rights deal. Reliance-Disney will be fine without it. FIFA won’t be, in the long-term.