TikTok picked by FIFA as video content partner at 2026 World Cup

A man opens social media app 'TikTok' on his cell phone (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

TikTok was picked by FIFA as the first “preferred platform” for video content on social media at a men’s World Cup, the soccer body said Thursday.

The World Cup tie-in will see creators get special access at the 48-nation tournament being co-hosted in 16 cities — 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada — from June 11 to July 19.

FIFA said World Cup broadcast rights holders can livestream parts of the 104 games at a dedicated hub on the TikTok app, which has more than 170 million users in the U.S.

“Additionally, a wide group of creators will receive the opportunity to use and co-create FIFA archival footage,” it said.

FIFA did not state the value of the deal, or details of any tender process and rival bidders. YouTube had a low-level sponsor deal that included access for creators at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

What kind of live content can be streamed this year, at a tournament where commercial partners’ exclusive rights are fiercely protected, also was not specified by FIFA.

TikTok’s partnership with MLS and Apple TV led to the platform carrying footage from cameras dedicated just to following soccer great Lionel Messi playing in games for Inter Miami.

FIFA promised fans would be taken “behind the curtain and closer to the action than ever before,” its secretary general Mattias Grafström said.

TikTok’s in-app World Cup hub also will give fans “participation incentives” like custom stickers, filters and gamification features.

“ TikTok GamePlan turns fandom into measurable business results for our sports partners, with fans being 42% more likely to tune in to live matches after watching sports content on TikTok,” said its global head of content, James Stafford.

TikTok became the world’s most downloaded phone app while also under threat of being shut down in the United States as a national security threat.

In December, TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance agreed to form a U.S. joint venture with investors Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX. That deal is scheduled to be sealed later this month.

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press