A new collaboration will see World Cup games streamed live on betting sites for the first time.
FIFA have agreed a deal with Stats Perform to become official betting data and betting streaming rights distributor for football’s governing body.
The landmark partnership includes the 2026 World Cup plus other official FIFA tournaments up to 2029.
It is a big win for licensed bookmakers who have to tackle the challenge of attracting UK users in the face of anti-social kick-off times.
The collaboration opens up the ability to stream all 104 games being played across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Stats Perform is the global tech and data company behind Opta, providing insight and analytics to the sports industry.
Playing To A Global Audience
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar received a total global audience of 5 billion unique users.
FIFA feels that opening up coverage to betting operators will help boost the global appeal of its full stable of competitions.
“We are delighted to partner with Stats Perform, a global leader in sports data,” said Romy Gai, Chief Business Officer.
“This innovative partnership will create great opportunities to deliver official products for the benefit of the game and its fans.”
Tournaments Available For Streaming
Stats Perform have exclusive rights to distribute official betting data and live video streams for these official FIFA events:
- World Cup 2026
- Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027
- Futsal World Cup 2028
- Women’s Futsal World Cup 2029
- Under-20 World Cup, 2027 and 2029
- Under-20 Women’s World Cup, 2026 and 2028
- Intercontinental Cup, through to 2029
The collaboration includes exclusive betting rights to thousands of games per season across FIFA member associations and competitions.
Executive Reaction
Carl Mergele, Chief Executive Officer at Stats Perform said: “FIFA competitions represent the pinnacle of the world’s biggest game.
“Our clients will be delighted we’re able to add FIFA competitions to our Opta and RunningBall official betting data portfolio, and our innovative, AI-enriched Bet LiveStreams service.
Stats Perform’s Integrity team will provide support to FIFA’s own integrity unit as part of the deal.
Where To Watch The 2026 World Cup
With the staggering costs of tickets and travel around the 2026 World Cup, the majority of fans will be tuning in from home.
Football fans in the UK will be able to watch live games at the 2026 World Cup on the BBC and ITV without needing a betting account.
England’s opening group game with Croatia will be live on ITV (9pm, June 17).
Next up for England will be Ghana (9pm, June 23) on the BBC.
ITV has the final group game with Panama (10pm, June 27).
Scotland’s opener with Haiti is on the BBC (2am, June 14).
The Scots’ second game against Morocco on June 19 will be on ITV (11pm).
The BBC will cover their much-anticipated showdown with Brazil (11pm, June 24).
