Maharaja Media Network has secured the licensed broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Sri Lanka and will carry all 104 matches free-to-air across three of its channels, the company announced at a media briefing held at the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) headquarters on Monday.
The announcement, three days before the tournament kicks off on June 11, sets up the country’s largest free-to-air sports event of the year. MTV Channel CEO Yasarath Kamalsiri said the network would broadcast every match from June 12 to July 20 across TV1, Sirasa TV and Shakthi TV, with three dedicated channels providing simultaneous coverage of fixtures playing across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“With matches taking place across the American continent, many games will be played during early morning hours in Sri Lanka. On some days, there will be up to six matches, including simultaneous fixtures,” Kamalsiri said. “With three dedicated channels, TV1, Sirasa TV and Shakthi TV, we have the capacity to bring every key moment to our viewers.”
Capital Maharaja Group Director Chevaan Daniel called the rights deal a national project. “This is a world event. It is an international event. And to connect Sri Lanka to the world is an enormously important responsibility,” he said, adding that making the tournament accessible free of charge across regions and social groups would help bridge gaps and unite audiences nationwide.
The collaboration extends to SLT-Mobitel’s PEO TV platform, which will carry the channels to ensure full island-wide reach. PEO TV CEO Ruchira Weerakoon described the partnership as a national responsibility aimed at making the event accessible to all Sri Lankans.
FFSL President Jaswar Umar said Sri Lanka already had over 4,000 football clubs, around 100,000 players and more than two million daily viewers of the sport. The World Cup could push the latter figure to four million, he said, with audiences turning out for what may be the final World Cup appearances of stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The tournament will feature 48 nations for the first time.
The broadcast deal continues the Maharaja Media Network’s recent international rights and partnership push, after it signed an MoU with ABC Australia on co-productions and content sharing in late May and an earlier tourism-content MoU with Macau’s TDM. The federation’s own administrative reform programme to set up permanent offices for all 61 member leagues was announced at its Annual Congress on Saturday.
