Football is coming to iPhone! Apple buys the rights to FIFA

Apple has almost struck a deal with FIFA to bring soccer and the 2025 World Cup to iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Apple is working to secure a giant exclusive TV deal with FIFA, the New York Times has reported and confirmed. FIFA will launch a modified version of the Club World Cup in 2025, and Apple wants exclusivity for all TV rights. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will feature 32 teams from each of the six confederations.

World Cup 2025 on iPhone

A deal between Apple and FIFA could be announced as early as this month, and the first tournament will be held in the United States next summer. Apple could pay about $1 billion, and the New York Times says it’s not yet clear whether there will be free streaming rights. Otherwise, the entire tournament may only be available to Apple TV+ subscribers, from iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Apple recently spent about $2.5 billion to secure global broadcast rights to Major League Soccer. In addition, the company also secured a deal with Major League Baseball. Finally, very soon, Apple will also purchase the TV rights to the famous NBA basketball tournament, in cooperation with other companies.

To beef things up, Apple introduced a new app some time ago, called Apple Sports, which is only available in the US, UK and Canada at the moment.

“We built Sports to give sports fans what they want: an app that provides incredibly fast access to scores and stats,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services at Apple. “Sports is available for free on the App Store and makes it easier for users to keep up with the latest on their favorite teams and leagues.”

Official availability

The app is available for download starting today in the US, UK and Canada, with English language support, as well as French and Spanish where available. Moreover, it is free to download and available for all iPhone models running iOS 17.2 or later.

When will he arrive in Italy?

It appears that Apple is working on bringing the app to us as well before the end of the year. In fact, Apple is also providing information on the Italian ‘Serie A’, so it’s only a matter of time.