GUWAHATI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, May 12, issued notice to the Union Government and Prasar Bharati on a plea seeking free-to-air broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India through public broadcasting platforms such as Doordarshan and DD Sports.
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Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed the respondents to file their replies and listed the matter for hearing next week. During the proceedings, the Court observed that the reliefs sought in the petition were in the nature of a public interest litigation (PIL).
The petition was filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, who sought directions to ensure that Prasar Bharati telecasts the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India through free public broadcasting services.
The plea specifically requested that major matches, including the opening game, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, be made available on free-to-air platforms. It also urged authorities to secure broadcasting rights for all 104 matches of the tournament.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is scheduled to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Notably, FIFA is yet to finalise broadcasting deals in both India and China, leaving the tournament without an official broadcaster in the world’s two most populous countries so far.
While the Indian football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, China has appeared only once, in the 2002 edition.
The tournament will be held across 16 venues, two in Canada, three in Mexico and 11 in the United States. The final is scheduled to take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, while all quarter-finals and semi-finals will also be hosted in the United States.
According to FIFA, broadcasting agreements for the 2026 World Cup have been secured in 175 countries.