TV rights for new Women’s Champions Cup remain unsold with the Matches to be played in London from 28 January.
Fifa has been struggling to sell TV rights to its first international women’s club competition, the Champions Cup, which is taking place in London from 28 January. In the tournament with the winners of the continental championships, Europe will be represented by Arsenal, the Champions League winners.
The issue has parallels of Fifa’s difficulty to sell TV rights to the men’s Club World Cup this year, bought by the worldwide streaming platform Dazn, which sold a $1bn interest to the Saudi Arabian firm SURJ Sports Investment.
A last-minute contract might also be done for the Champions Cup, however considering only four matches – two semi-finals, the final and a third-place game – are being played from 28 January to 1 February it is uncertain whether broadcasters regard it as a valuable item.
Sources with knowledge of the process said Fifa had not ran a formal tender, but had sought prominent broadcasters in particular markets.
The Women’s Super League rights holders, Sky Sports and BBC Sport, are said to have been offered the event, but have shown little interest despite the presence of Arsenal. The venues have not yet been disclosed by FIFA, which could impact ticket sales.
Arsenal, Corinthians (the Copa Libertadores holders) and Gotham FC (the Concacaf champions) made it in for the semi-finals. The Chinese club Wuhan Jiangda overcame Auckland United in October and advanced to this month’s playoff against the Moroccan side AS FAR for the privilege to meet Arsenal. The next semi-final will be between Gotham and Corinthians.
Staging the Champions Cup has been fraught with complications, partially because of the tight timetable. Gotham intended to host the finals in New York, a move accepted by Fifa, but Arsenal are known to have opposed to going to the United States in the middle of their season. Arsenal are slated to meet Chelsea in the WSL on 24 January.
Fifa declined to comment, but sources claimed the media rights sales process was in progress.