FIFA will serve as the anchor intellectual property around which ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports plan to build a comprehensive sports portfolio, helping the platform strengthen its position in India's sports market and deepen engagement with younger, digital-first audiences, according to Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer of Unite8 Sports, a division of ZEE5 Entertainment Enterprises.
Earlier this month, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises announced that it had secured exclusive Indian television and digital rights to 39 FIFA tournaments scheduled between 2026 and 2034. These include the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, featuring a record 48 teams competing for football's biggest prize.
Strategic Importance of FIFA Rights
Speaking to ANI on the business significance of securing FIFA rights, Janavlekar described the acquisition as a defining step in building a long-term and future-ready sports ecosystem for ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports. He emphasized that the global appeal of FIFA competitions would play a crucial role in strengthening the company's sports offerings and enhancing its presence in the rapidly evolving sports entertainment landscape.
"What FIFA does is that it acts as an anchor IP for us to structure our entire sports portfolio around. With this, we achieve a lot of things in terms of positioning ourselves at the helm of sports in India. It is a defining step in building a long-term and future-ready sports ecosystem for ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports. It also establishes us as a premium sports entertainment platform while helping us deepen our connection with younger and digital-first audiences in India," Janavlekar said.
Comprehensive Coverage and Content
The deal, which marks the first collaboration between ZEE and FIFA, includes a wide range of men's and women's youth competitions, futsal tournaments, and documentary content linked to the events. Among the properties covered are the FIFA Men's and Women's U-17 World Cups, FIFA U-20 Men's and Women's World Cups, FIFA Futsal Men's and Women's World Cups, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup through 2030.
Coverage of the tournaments is set to begin on June 11 with the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Matches will be aired on four newly launched sports channels: Unite8 Sports 1 and Unite8 Sports 1 HD in Hindi, and Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD in English. Live streaming will be available on ZEE5, the company's digital platform.
Building Football in India
Janavlekar acknowledged that while India remains a cricket-dominated nation, football already enjoys the second-largest fan base and viewership in the country. He noted that the partnership with FIFA is designed to be developmental rather than purely commercial, with a focus on building football's ecosystem from the grassroots level.
"You are right with the cricket point. But after cricket, football has the largest viewership in India. The fan size is also one of the largest after cricket. When we started engaging with FIFA for the World Cup, we secured rights not only for 2026 but also for 2030, with affiliated events going up to 2034. This is an eight-year commitment and partnership between FIFA, ZEE5, and Unite8 Sports," Janavlekar said.
He added that the approach has always been to build the sport of football along with FIFA in India, rather than being transactional. "There is a lot of building involved in this partnership. We will have the best of their support and insights into what we can do in India to develop football from the grassroots level," he elaborated.
Learning from Other Sports
Janavlekar pointed to India's recent success across multiple sporting disciplines, including badminton, chess, hockey, wrestling, and combat sports. He suggested that the country's broader sports development model could be replicated in football with support from FIFA.
"In India, in the last few years, there has been a big change in terms of recreating world-class athletes across different sports. We have champions in badminton and chess. Hockey has consistently been in the top five countries. We have consistently won medals in wrestling and combat sports. Women have done well. This approach of building sports across multiple disciplines works for us, and FIFA lends momentum for us to embark on that track," he said.
Delivering World-Class Coverage
Janavlekar stated that the company's immediate focus is to deliver world-class coverage of FIFA events while creating additional content that enhances the viewing experience. Through ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports, viewers can expect high-quality live coverage. The primary objective is to present the world-class product to audiences in a world-class manner.
"Our focus will be on delivering a comprehensive and immersive experience not only for football fanatics but also for those on the peripheries who would want to be part of this spectacle. This will be one of the largest and longest World Cups in the history of FIFA," he said.
Business Impact and Audience Funnel
Discussing the business impact, Janavlekar described the FIFA World Cup as one of the world's premier sporting properties with the ability to attract audiences across regions and cultures. With 48 countries participating, the event creates a strong funnel for bringing large audiences onto the platform, including new, younger, digital-first consumers.
"We intend to leverage this new set of viewers coming onto the platform and engage them with our multiple offerings across our entertainment catalogue, as well as more national and international sporting properties coming on board," Janavlekar concluded.
