FIFA decides on television broadcasting licenses; upcoming presentation of organizational advancements (Sheinbaum)
The director of the Maya Train project has expressed a strong commitment to learning from past failures and ensuring the successful organisation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. This determination was recently expressed during a speech at the National Palace by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a highly anticipated sporting spectacle that will be jointly organised by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. While the broadcast rights for the tournament's matches in any country, including Mexico, are primarily determined and sold by FIFA, the global governing body of football, it can be inferred that FIFA would have licensed the Mexican broadcast rights to a national or regional media company.
In the U.S., for example, the Spanish-language broadcast rights are held by Telemundo, which is providing extensive coverage of every match. Typically, FIFA awards the rights in each country to established media companies with strong coverage capabilities. However, the precise Mexican broadcaster has not been named yet, and you may need to check FIFA’s official announcements or Mexican media outlets for confirmation closer to the event.
The organisation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico is currently under investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FGR). The director of the Maya Train project has acknowledged past failures in the organisation of the tournament and has emphasised the importance of avoiding past mistakes.
FIFA is the entity that grants permissions for the transmission of the 2026 World Cup matches to broadcasters. President Sheinbaum Pardo has clarified that FIFA, not Mexico, determines who gets the broadcast rights for the tournament.
The director of the Maya Train project has stated a goal to ensure that matches of the 2026 World Cup can be viewed throughout Mexico. The advances in the organisation of the tournament will be presented next week.
Public or government acquisition of rights varies by country; for example, Argentina’s government decided not to buy free-to-air rights for 2026, illustrating how different countries’ media policies affect who ultimately broadcasts the tournament.
In summary, FIFA controls and sells the broadcast rights worldwide, conducting centralised negotiations to allocate these commercial rights. Broadcasters in each country, such as Mexico, purchase these rights from FIFA to air the matches.
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