FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, is seeking investment of up to $2 billion to expand its FIFA+ streaming service, it has been reported.
The organization is working with UBS, the multinational investment bank, and a formal fundraising process is expected to kick off in July, according to Bloomberg.
The process will reportedly target mostly financial investors from the US and the Middle East.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports that the investment would be in exchange for a minority stake in FIFA+.
The platform was launched by FIFA in April 2022 as a free direct-to-consumer offering that provides access to a range of content, including live matches, archive fixtures, original feature programming, and a live match center.
FIFA aims to cover over 40,000 live matches on the platform each year, with games from 90 member associations across men’s, women’s, and youth soccer.
The streaming service has predominantly offered live streaming in smaller broadcast markets, with last year’s Women’s World Cup offered for free in countries where FIFA hadn’t sold TV rights.
FIFA’s most recent deal on the platform was with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the governing body for soccer in the region, to stream all OFC competitions for the next two years.
