With just six months to go until the start of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has announced a new partnership designed to reach new audiences around the world.
TikTok has been named the first ‘preferred platform’ for World Cup social media video content, FIFA announced on Thursday. The social media platform will have greater freedom to share game footage, with broadcast rights holders able to livestream parts of games on TikTok.
There will also be new options for TikTok content creators to take advantage of a huge library of past World Cup action to include in videos. FIFA explained: “Additionally, a wide group of creators will receive the opportunity to use and co-create FIFA archival footage.”
It’s not exactly clear what sort of live content is likely to be made available for viewers around the world. World Cup broadcast rights deals are a major revenue source for FIFA and organizers would be reluctant to give it away for free.
Nevertheless, FIFA may look to replicate TikTok’s recent partnerships with MLS, allowing the social media platform to carry live in-game footage from certain games. The initiative included footage from dedicated cameras at select Inter Miami games, following every action from Lionel Messi and broadcasting it live on TikTok.
This year’s tournament is the biggest of all time, with 48 national teams playing across the United States, Mexico and Canada. At such large scale, some have questioned how fans will keep up with the 104 games played across multiple time zones. The TikTok partnership might help audiences follow the action.