Coverage of all four UK Home Nations’ 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches will be broadcast free-to-air in the country after the BBC secured a rights deal.
The public service broadcaster will cover the qualifying games involving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The BBC will cover 41 live matches over the next 15 months, beginning this month.
BBC One will provide the coverage, though football fans can also view the matches online via BBC iPlayer. The coverage will sit alongside ITV’s coverage of England’s qualifying matches, while the move market the first time the BBC will cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland football games under the same rights package.
“I’m absolutely delighted that fans across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will now be able to enjoy live, free-to-air coverage of all the big international football matches,” said Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director of BBC Nations.
“Nothing fires the imagination more than live international sport and the race to qualify for the world’s biggest tournament. It’s going to be quite a ride and I’m thrilled the BBC will be there every step of the way.”
Coverage of the qualifiers is a notable boost to FTA sports coverage in the UK at a time when many prominent sports tournaments are moving towards pay-TV broadcasting, particularly at a time when football clubs’ finances face critical pressures.
Perhaps the most notable example of this was when the rights to the FA Cup, which has traditionally always been an FTA tournament with coverage split between the BBC and ITV, would head to pay-TV under a deal with TNT Sports.
The BBC has retained some coverage, however, showing 14 games per season co-exclusively with TNT. Other developments since have given UK sports fans some FTA boosts, however.
In January the EFL announced that two Championship games, taking place that month and in February, would be broadcast on ITV. The outlet would later secure rights to LIV Golf fixtures, while the FTA rights to Spain’s LaLiga went to tender late last month.
Regarding the qualifiers, securing FTA coverage via the BBC could prove valuable for the football scenes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by maximism reach. This could be particularly true for Wales, where football authorities are looking to significantly overhaul league structures with the goal of securing more European football for clubs.
Commenting on coverage of Wales qualifiers on the BBC, Rhuanedd Richards, Director BBC Cymru Wales, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve signed a deal to bring the action from Wales’ matches to our screens.
“Craig Bellamy and the Cymru squad are about to start a brand new campaign and I’m so pleased that BBC Cymru Wales will be with them all the way, bringing international football to fans across the nation.”
