Match TV previously shared the rights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Russian sports broadcaster Match TV has snapped up exclusive rights to men's national team soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Gazprom Media-owned network will be the sole Russian broadcaster for the 48-team tournament, which will take place across Mexico, the US, and Canada, in June and July of 2026.

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The broadcaster is set to show the event despite – at the time of writing – Russia being barred from taking part.

Following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, FIFA (alongside almost all other international sporting governing bodies) moved to ban Russian sides from its national team tournaments – that is still in place.

FIFA has not, however, moved to ban coverage of its tournaments, such as the World Cup, in Russia.

The previous World Cup, held in Qatar in late 2022, was shown in Russia by a combination of the national broadcasters Channel One and VGTRK, as well as Match TV.

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For the 2026 tournament, deals have recently been unveiled by FIFA in markets including the UK, South Korea, Israel, and a range of central European markets.

Match TV, meanwhile, secured a five-year extension of its deal with Italian top-tier soccer’s Serie A, in late July, and also showed a majority of games from the UEFA European Championship continental competition in 2024.