FIFA is facing criticism from several sports rights stakeholders after signing a commercial partnership with ExpressVPN for the 2026 World Cup. The company, specializing in virtual private networks, is advertised as an official sponsor of the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Its name appears on the LED boards around the pitches during the competition.
The choice of this sponsor has provoked anger from La Liga, LFP Media, and the Association for the Protection of Sports Programs, which represents the main French sports broadcasters. ExpressVPN has been targeted in France by several court rulings related to the fight against the piracy of sports broadcasts. French courts have ordered VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, to block access to websites illegally streaming sporting events.
La Liga writes to Gianni Infantino
Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, has sent a letter to Gianni Infantino denouncing the agreement between FIFA and ExpressVPN. In this letter, the head of Spanish professional football refers to a formal complaint against this partnership and believes the agreement is "clearly incompatible with the principles of protecting football's audiovisual rights".
La Liga accuses FIFA of associating the World Cup with a company whose services can circumvent blocks on illegal websites. Javier Tebas claims that this partnership sends "A disastrous message to the entire football ecosystem" and that it gives a form of legitimacy to a company convicted in proceedings related to access to pirated content.
LFP Media and French broadcasters are taking a stand.
In France, the APPS also wrote to FIFA to express its "deep concern" Following the signing of the contract with ExpressVPN, the association is acting in particular at the request of LFP Media, the commercial subsidiary of the Professional Football League. The issue is sensitive for the LFP, which seeks to protect the value of Ligue 1 broadcasting rights, as its Ligue 1+ platform is slated to handle the league's broadcasts.
Xavier Spender, director of APPS, criticizes ExpressVPN for not having implemented a blocking strategy deemed effective in France. He asserts that the company "has not implemented any effective blocking measures in France and has systematically challenged our legitimate enforcement requests".
Court decisions already handed down in France
French courts have already ordered several VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and Proton, to block domain names associated with illegal sports streaming sites. A ruling issued in May 2025 specifically targeted 203 domain names linked to the unauthorized broadcasting of sporting events.
Other decisions have increased this pressure on VPNs, in a context where broadcasters and professional leagues are seeking faster and more effective blocking measures. Sports piracy remains a major financial issue for rights holders, particularly in football, where illegal streaming weakens the revenues of channels, platforms, and competitions.
FIFA defends its agreement
In response to criticism, FIFA maintains that it conducted the necessary checks before signing with ExpressVPN. The governing body asserts that it examined the potential consequences of the partnership and took measures to ensure that the agreement does not undermine the efforts of rights holders and stakeholders committed to combating piracy.
La Liga and APPS are now asking FIFA to guarantee that its sponsor takes all necessary measures to prevent its services from facilitating access to illegal content. The disagreement puts the world governing body in a delicate position: it values a commercial partner linked to cybersecurity, while several stakeholders in professional football accuse it of undermining the protection of audiovisual rights.
