Netflix is doubling down in North America on the women’s World Cup soccer tournament.
The streamer on Friday announced it had secured the official TV rights in Canada for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. That followed Netflix earlier picking up the same exclusive broadcast rights in the U.S. for the marquee women’s soccer tournament for 2027 and 2031 to expand its push into live sports.
“We are thrilled that Netflix will be FIFA’s exclusive partner in Canada for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. With under two years to go until the first match in Brazil, we are hard at work on planning and aim to give fans unparalleled access to the most prestigious competition in women’s football,” Gabe Spitzer, vp of sports at Netflix, said in a statement.
The current FIFA Women’s World Cup rights in Canada are held by TSN, the Canadian cable sports channel. In the run-up to the 2027 Women’s World Cup tournament, Netflix is expected to produce documentary series to spotlight top international players and the global growth of women’s football (known as soccer in North America) overall.
Netflix has already driven into live sports programming with the recent Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3 boxing match, the weekly streaming of WWE Raw, the upcoming Canelo vs. Crawford boxing match and NFL Christmas Day games.
FIFA chief business officer Romy Gai in a statement added: “Following the landmark agreement between FIFA and Netflix in the United States relating to the exclusive rights to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, we are pleased to extend the footprint of our partnership with Netflix to Canada. We will embrace the opportunity to work with Netflix to continue to grow the popularity of the women’s game in Canada – a nation with a rich FIFA Women’s World Cup history.”
Netflix already features football-related programming like Captains of the World, Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, Beckham, Sunderland ’Til I Die, Boca Juniors Confidential, and upcoming documentaries on Vinícius Júnior and veteran manager José Mourinho.
A host country for the 2031 Women’s World Cup has yet to be named, and will mark the first 48-team edition of the tournament.