CHANNEL Five will screen more than 20 games at this summer’s expanded Club World Cup after teaming up with the terrestrial partner of streamer DAZN.
were announced as the global broadcaster of the tournament, with their £770m TV deal providing ’s record cash pot.
It was anticipated that DAZN would find a broadcast partner in all major territories to ensure the widest possible access to supporters.
But with BBC and ITV both opting out, Five emerged as the sub-licence partner.
The DAZN deal means and are guaranteed around £30m up front with a further potential £67m if they go all the way to win the Final in New York in July.
But now fans without access to streaming services will be able to watch 23 of the 63 games free of charge on terrestrial TV after the Five agreement.
Those games include 15 group stage matches, likely to include the games of the two Prem giants, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the Final.
also includes,,, and.
Fans with smart TVs will be able to watch all 63 matches for free via DAZN.
The British streaming platform has come to an arrangement with Fifa, who had gone into the new year reportedly still struggling to find a broadcaster.
At one stage, Fifa president Gianni Infantino is understood to have held an emergency meeting in an attempt to bolster interest.
ITV had hoped to tempt football's ruling body into giving them broadcasting rights for FREE.
In exchange, ITV would have shown the games on their main channels – giving the event a high profile.
But Fifa have now agreed a huge deal with much smaller broadcaster Channel Five.
The tournament runs from June 15 to July 13, across venues in the USA, including Charlotte, Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
