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Talks linking Apple as a broadcaster for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have officially broken off. The two sides previously negotiated for months. The global governing body of the sport supposedly valued a media partnership for the tournament at around $4 billion. Apple, however, has balked at the request after reportedly considering only going as high as $1 billion.
As a result of the deadlock, FIFA is now attempting to attract different broadcasters. The governing body has launched an invitation to tender media companies to put in bids for the rights to the competition. This not only involves the 2025 tournament but also in 2029. The Club World Cup will soon only happen every four years.
“This tender process for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and FIFA Club World Cup 2029 will allow FIFA to select the entity, or entities, that are best placed to secure the required transmission and programming commitments on a global, regional, or territory-specific basis,” FIFA said in a statement. “A second phase covering Europe as well as Sub-Saharan Africa will be staged, with precise timings to follow in due course.”
Apple’s reluctance to meet FIFA’s demands is very telling. The massive media company certainly has plenty of money to spend on exclusive broadcasting rights to sporting events. This is evident in their previous deals with Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball here in the United States.
Nevertheless, Apple seemingly believes that FIFA is drastically overvaluing the rights fee for the Club World Cup. The tournament in question is not exactly immensely popular among many soccer fans. It remains unclear how much the governing body will receive from a broadcaster in the tender.
Along with the financials involved, there are additional potential concerns for Apple as well. For starters, the expanded Club World Cup may not even take place. FIFA previously announced that the competition will expand from seven teams to 32 for the 2025 tournament. The move yielded almost immediate outrage from players and coaches.
It was even revealed back in May that an international players’ union was planning a lawsuit against FIFA. The main crux of the potential court case directly revolves around the 2025 Club World Cup. Players have voiced health and safety concerns about expanded schedules, such as the aforementioned tournament.
There are also concerns from foreign fans potentially coming to the United States to attend the matches. Millions of fans will come to America ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Although the 2025 Club World Cup is a smaller competition, there will still be people flocking Stateside from all over the globe. It was previously revealed that there could be visa issues for a majority of these soccer supporters.
Even if potential visa issues smooth over, there are new security concerns due to the fairly disastrous Copa America 2024. A brawl between Colombian fans and Uruguay players marred the tournament across the United States last week. La Celeste stars criticized the competition’s organizers after claiming that security personnel failed to protect their families. As a result of the lack of security, select Uruguay players entered the stands to fight off opposing fans.
Just days after the debacle, the Copa America Final faced chaos. The match between Colombia and Argentina suffered significant delays because ticketless fans rushed the stadium. Fans certainly took some of the blame for the way they acted. Organizers also failed to implement necessary security measures and crowd control.
The 2025 Club World Cup is now less than one year away and still without a broadcasting partner. Apple’s decision to bow out likely signifies trouble for FIFA. The massive tech company previously seemed like the most logical and natural partner for the governing body.
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