Fox Sports Secures Australian Rights to FIFA Club World Cup

The seven-team tournament, which was first contested in 2000 and has been held each year since 2005, features the club champions from each of FIFA’s six continental confederations along with the host nation’s national champions.

The tournament will be played over eight match days from December 11- 21 and Fox Sports will deliver live, uninterrupted and High Definition coverage of all eight matches including the final.

The 2013 tournament is headlined by UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich (Germany) and CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores champions Atletico Mineiro (Brazil), as well as recent AFC Champions League victors Guangzhou Evergrande (China).

The opening match will feature hosts Raja Casablanca (Morocco) against OFC Champions League winners Auckland City FC (New Zealand) on December 11.

Fox Sports CEO, Patrick Delany, commented on the new deal: “It’s going to be a fantastic summer for football fans on Foxtel with every game of the Hyundai A-League and Barclays Premier League continuing throughout the summer months as well as La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup on Fox Sports and the UEFA Champions League over on ESPN.”

“The success of football as the “it” sport of the summer and the fact that we have the best team steering our coverage has led to really strong ratings.”

Previous winners of the FIFA Club World Cup include English giants Manchester United (2008) and Spanish kings Barcelona who lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2011.