SBS 2026 World Cup Coverage

Television SBS
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Watch all 104 games of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.

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New York’s MetLife Stadium to host FIFA World Cup 2026 Final, Mexico to host tournament opener

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final is headed to the Big Apple with FIFA revealing New York’s MetLife Stadium as the host of the global football decider during a star-studded official tournament schedule release event in Miami on Monday.

World entertainment heavyweights Drake, Kim Kardashian and Kevin Hart joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino to unveil the venues and match schedule of the 23rd FIFA World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

In what was the biggest announcement of the night, Infantino revealed the open-air MetLife Stadium will host the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 beating AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas for the honour.

The 82,500-seat venue is located 18 kilometres northwest of downtown Manhattan, in the New Jersey Borough of East Rutherford, and has previously played host to Superbowl 58 in 2010 and the Copa America Centenario in 2016 as Chile stunned Lionel Messi’s Argentina to win the South American football crown 4-2 on penalties.

AT&T Stadium and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the semi-final matches, and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will host the bronze medal match

Mexico City will host the tournament opener on June 11, 2026 (Friday, June 12 AEST) with the historic Estadio Azteca, the site of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup Triumph and Brazil’s 1970 World Cup title, set to become the first stadium to host matches at three separate World Cups.

The tournament is set to be one of many firsts, with three host nations, more teams and more games than ever before.

The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games, including an additional knockout round due to the previously announced decision to expand to 48 teams from 32.

While qualifying is underway, the three host nations are guaranteed entry.

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Canada will host their first ever Men’s FIFA World Cup match when the Canadian National team kicks off their campaign in Toronto at BMO Field on June 12 (June 13 AEST), while the USA will start their campaign in Los Angeles, the site of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, at the newly built SOFI Stadium also on June 12.

Other US World Cup match sites are Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; NRG Stadium in Houston; Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

With the additional teams, the length of the tournament will grow from 29 days in the shortened 2022 schedule in Qatar and 32 days for the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Only one match will involve a team that has not had at least three off days. FIFA divided the group stage into East, Central and West regions and intended to make travel shorter for group winners.

All 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the USA, Canada and Mexico will be broadcast live, free and exclusive on SBS Australia across SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand .

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Using sponsored names… :thinking:

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FIFA World Cup 2026™ Qualifiers – CONMEBOL

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From Friday, 21 March

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest competition in world football and, in 2026, 48 of the best national teams from the men’s game will come together for a tournament watched by over five billion people.

SBS and SBS On Demand provide live coverage of 54 qualifying matches from the South American confederation, in what is an early taste of elite football action for Australian audiences. World champions Argentina are among the national teams vying for a place in the World Cup, as are arch-rivals Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

Friday, 21 March (AEDT)
10.00am – 12.00pm - Paraguay v Chile - Live on SBS On Demand
11.35am - 1.45pm – Brazil v Colombia – Live on SBS and SBS On Demand
12.30pm – 2.30pm – Peru v Bolivia – Live on SBS On Demand

Saturday, 22 March (AEDT)
8.00am – 10.00am – Ecuador v Venezuela – Live on SBS On Demand
10.20am – 12.30pm – Uruguay v Argentina – Live on SBS and SBS On Demand

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Qualifiers – CONMEBOL matches will be available to stream live and free on SBS On Demand.

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Good to see CONMEBOL qualifiers for free which were on beIN Sports.

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I am also enjoying these World Cup Qualifiers being on SBS.

And good to see that SBS are still showing World Cup Classic Matches on their main channel on Sunday mornings at 10am.

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World Cup 2026 coverage information from SBS Upfronts

As the exclusive broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup 2026TM, SBS will deliver over 550 hours of coverage including every match live in HD, replays, highlights and exclusive pitch-side crosses during the Socceroos’ campaign.

On SBS On Demand, fans can dive into the tournament their way via a dedicated FIFA World Cup 26 hub — the ultimate destination for live matches, catch-up, classic moments and rich behind-the-scenes access.

SBS Sport will amplify the action across digital and social with bold, engaging storytelling both on and off the pitch, with a sharp focus on the Socceroos.

Rounding out the experience is FIFA+, a new FAST channel offering fans around-the-clock FIFA content and global football stories from both the men’s and women’s games.

SBS declares FIFA World Cup 2026™ ‘Will be biggest TV audience event of 2026’

SBS names Hyundai, Macca’s, Rexona, Hisense, bet365, Commonwealth Bank and Youi as major partners for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

SBS has used its 2026 Upfronts event to remind brands and agencies that there will be no better or larger opportunity to reach Australian audiences at scale than the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Speaking at the national broadcaster’s annual Upfronts, SBS Acting Managing Director Jane Palfreyman told the room: “In 2026 there will be no bigger event than the FIFA World Cup 2026™, and SBS will be the only place Australian audiences can watch what will be an incredible competition.

“Across June and July next year, Australians en-masse will turn to SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand for a world-class viewing experience, with an unprecedented 104 matches from across Canada, Mexico and the United States broadcast live and free.

“This will be a FIFA World Cup™ like no other and SBS will be the home of that competition delivering the passion, drama and triumphs of one of the world’s greatest sporting events.”

SBS has also named its tier one partners for the event, confirming that Hyundai, Macca’s, Rexona, Hisense, bet365, Commonwealth Bank and Youi were all supporting the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ as SBS official broadcast partners.

“We have some incredible partners who are joining us to help broadcast this remarkable competition,” said Palfreyman. “These brands recognise the incredible opportunity to reach Australians at large in an event which captures the hearts of millions of Australians.”

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The spiritual home of the WC. Thought they’d share coverage with Nine/Stan similar to BBC/ITV but SBS is putting in a tremendous effort to air all 104 games of this 48-team World Cup next June/July.

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A huge challenge for SBS (and Viceland) to cover the massive event from next year. But kudos for them for having it, and not giving in to the bigger networks (and streaming sites).

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Then again, it may be also because of the timing.

Kickoffs are set for 2am, 5am, 8am and 11am if CWC is supposed to be a test run.

And every match will be given a JIC broadcast window of up to 5 hours to account for weather delays (there will be a lot).

Had a commercial network gotten the rights, I’d bet most of the games will air outside of primary feed due to program commitments. SBS is simply more flexible in that extent.

Not sure what the split - at least on paper - is, but I reckon Viceland will only air MD3 less-appealing games.

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It was revealed in October 2023 that SBS had retained FTA and digital rights to the World Cup.

Does today’s announcement means SBS does not have radio rights to the tournament? That will mean no live radio commentary in foreign languages.

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Audiences in Australia can watch the FIFA World Cup 26™ Final Draw live from 4am AEDT on SBS and SBS On Demand, with a replay of the event leading into the Australia Championship Final later that evening on December 6.

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Doesn’t sound like exclusive SEN rights

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Fri 5 Dec into Sat 6 Dec (overnight) Updated run time

4.00am FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw LIVE ALL (100mins) AEDT

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It will be interesting to see if SBS has the rights to the inter-confederation playoffs to be held in Mexico in March next year, featuring six teams from Africa, Asia, South America, and CONCACAF regions.

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You’d assume they might, as Optus had the women’s in 2023. European are on Stan as they are part of the UEFA package.

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SBS’s article How to watch the FIFA World Cup 26 Final Draw has been updated to include how the draw will proceed later today (US time).

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And I should note that there will be another live event, also at 4am AEDT, on Sunday for the schedule release.

Will this be shown live on SBSOD? Probably not.