Bangladesh Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan said that by purchasing the broadcasting rights of FIFA World Cup 2026 directly from FIFA and later through sub-licensing, it has been possible to bring the cost of showing the World Cup game to the government almost to zero. On the other hand, during the 2022 World Cup, around 140 crores of rupees were transacted through middlemen.

He said these things at a press conference organized on the occasion of the World Cup Football 2026 broadcast in the conference room of the Directorate of Information at the Secretariat recently.

The Information Minister said that the media rights of the 2026 World Cup have been directly purchased by the government from FIFA for 3.85 million US dollars. Most of the money was then recouped through sub-licensing to the country’s four broadcasters. As a result, the government’s actual expenditure is now limited to only four to five crore rupees and he hoped that through the ongoing revenue sharing talks, it would be possible to meet this shortfall as well.

The Information Minister said that Hon’ble Prime Minister Tariq Rahman had a clear directive – the people of the country should enjoy the World Cup, but there should be no additional pressure on the tax money of the people. With that goal in mind, the government procured the broadcasting rights directly with FIFA through lengthy negotiations, negotiations and coordination at various stages, completely eliminating the middlemen.

Zahir Uddin Swapan said that although the broadcast rights were taken from FIFA for 3.2 million US dollars in the 2022 World Cup, it was not directly collected by the Bangladesh government. First a Singapore-based company bought the property, then a Bangladeshi private company, Tama Construction, acquired the property. Then Bangladesh Television (BTV) bought the broadcast rights from that organization for about 98 crore taka. At the same time, Tama Construction sold the satellite and digital media rights separately to two private companies for about Tk 40 crore. In all, about 140 crores of rupees were transacted through middlemen.

He said the whole process of 2022 involved two tiers of intermediaries. However, this time the government bought the rights directly from FIFA and closed the opportunity for that extra cost and opacity. This has resulted in saving the tax money of the people and protecting the financial interest of the state.

The minister said that broadcasting the World Cup is not just a sports event, it is an important service of the government to the people. But this service should never be turned into an opportunity for corruption. By comparing the current system with the past experience, people will easily understand which system is profitable and transparent for the state.

The Information Minister also said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will take plans from now to make future World Cup broadcasting more technologically dependent, financially sustainable and profitable, so that it becomes a profitable venture for the state as well as ensuring World Cup broadcasting for the people in the future.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary (Routine Duties) Md Shah Alam, Chief Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmed and Bangladesh Television Director General Md Mahbubul Alam were present at the press conference.

Author: International Senior Editor, War, Military, Political and Economic Analyst. Editor in Chief: WSN24