Five months until the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in North America, FIFA has announced a partnership with TikTok to expand distribution of content on the short-form video platform, while enabling media partners to live-stream parts of matches.
FIFA named the ByteDance-owned company its “first-ever Preferred Platform”, a new concept designed to make TikTok “the go-to place for fans and creators throughout the tournament.” The content will be housed in a dedicated World Cup hub on the video platform, where users can access original and curated content from media partners and global creators, alongside match ticket and viewing information, custom stickers, filters and gamification features.
As part of the agreement, the tournament’s official media partners will be able to live-stream parts of matches, post curated clips, and access original content produced by FIFA for TikTok. The deal also opens up further revenue opportunities for broadcasters, according to FIFA, using the social video company’s advertising solutions to monetise their World Cup coverage.
In addition, the partnership includes a new creator programme, which grants a select group of global TikTok creators access to behind-the-scenes environments, such as press conferences and training sessions. A wide group of creators will also be able to use archival footage from FIFA in their content, according to the football governing body.
“FIFA’s goal is to share the exhilaration of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with as many fans as possible, and we can’t think of a better way to further that mission during the biggest event in sports history than to have TikTok as the tournament’s first Preferred Platform,” said FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström. “This is an innovative and creative collaboration that will connect more fans across the globe to the FIFA World Cup in unprecedented ways, bringing them behind the curtain and closer to the action than ever before.”
Playing it short
The new deal acknowledges the growing role of social video in sports viewing, particularly for younger fans who tend not to watch linear TV, and use social media to follow tournaments. Ofcom research around the 2022 World Cup suggested that 42 percent of 18-24 year-olds scroll social media during games, while ad tech firm Unruly (now Nexxen) found that 42 percent of viewers aged 18-34 watch World Cup content via streaming or social media apps.
For FIFA, this means expanding into distribution channels where younger football fans spend their time. The organisation said the TikTok partnership is part of a wider strategy to engage with third-party social platforms. “As football grows and evolves – uniting an increasing number of people – so should the way it is shared and promoted,” said FIFA’s Mattias Grafström.
The deal follows a previous content partnership between FIFA and TikTok for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which included behind-the-scenes moments, live pre-match content and match highlights, which TikTok users could access on a dedicated hub. The partners said the tie-up resulted in “tens of billions” of video views from a diverse, global audience.
“Football has experienced explosive global growth on TikTok over the past few years, and as FIFA’s first-ever Preferred Platform we’re excited for fans to experience the FIFA World Cup 2026 beyond the 90 minutes, with exclusive content and unprecedented creator access,” said James Stafford, Global Head of Content at TikTok. “TikTok GamePlan turns fandom into measurable business results for our sports partners, with fans being 42 percent more likely to tune in to live matches after watching sports content on TikTok. We’re reaching the next generation of football fans – particularly younger and female audiences – and converting that passion into real tune-in and engagement at unprecedented scale.”
The agreement is particularly notable for enabling media partners to live-stream parts of matches, continuing the digital expansion of live sports rights that were once the sole domain of national broadcasters. In Brazil, the 2026 World Cup rights have been awarded to digital sports channel CazéTV, which plans to show matches on YouTube and Twitch. And last year, Germany’s Bundesliga awarded live rights to two YouTube channels, putting European content creators alongside broadcasters and streaming services as part of the league’s new media mix.
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