which Romanian television will broadcast the World Cup in the next editions!

On Monday, September 2, 2024, it was revealed which Romanian television will broadcast the next two editions, 2026 and 2030, of the World Cup, the most important and watched competition in the “king sport”.

In 2026, the final tournament will feature 48 teams and 104 matches for the first time and will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Instead, the 2030 World Cup will be hosted by no less than 6 countries: Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay.

The World Cup matches will be broadcast by Antena 1 in 2026 and 2030

There are less than two years left until a new edition of the World Cup, the most anticipated final tournament in the world when it comes to football. And in 2026, more significant changes will take place.

First, regarding our country, which hopes to be present at the final tournament, the matches will no longer be broadcast by Romanian Television, as happened at the Qatar 2022 World Championship.

On Monday, September 2, 2024, it was revealed in the public space that Antena 1 bought the broadcasting rights for the World Cup. And not just for the 2026 edition, but also for the 2030 one.

The bombshell move, which leaves TVR without the most important football competition after four consecutive editions, has already been confirmed by Mihai Ioniță, the CEO of Antena television:

After Romania’s matches and Formula 1 broadcasts, the joy of building stories around the World Cup until 2030 will be shared with the Romanians, live on all screens,” Antena CEO Mihai Ioniță said in a press release presser.

The format of the World Cup is also changing

As I have already stated, with the 2026 edition of the World Cup, in which Romania dreams of being present under the command of Mircea Lucescu, the format of the final tournament is also changing.

It will be the first time since 2002 that the World Cup will be held in more than one country: the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. At the same time, the number of participating representative teams has been increased considerably, from 32 to 48. Thus, we will also have a record number of matches: 104! As a parallel, only 64 matches took place at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Even in 2030 there will be no shortage of news. If the format remains the same from 2026, it will set an all-time record for the host countries. No less than 6 countries will organize the final tournament in 2030: Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay.

So, two editions of the World Cup are interesting to say the least, with a lot of matches taking place in different countries and even on different continents, as it will happen in 2030.

A participation in the World Cup is something extraordinary! I had this chance! I want to give continuity to the team, make the players believe in themselves, give everything! I see in them possible participants in the World Cup”, Mircea Lucescu also said, after the appearance of the new news, according to Paginademedia.ro.

The preliminaries of the 2026 World Cup will take place between March and November 2025. Romania is part of the 2nd value box at the momentand the draw for the groups will take place in December 2024.