FIFA's ExpressVPN World Cup sponsorship sparks fury from Spain's La Liga and French broadcasters
- Broadcasters in France, Spain have submitted a formal complaint to FIFA
- Rightsholders labeled the partnership with ExpressVPN as "disastrous"
- ExpressVPN previously refused to implement sweeping anti-piracy blocking
FIFA’s decision to partner with ExpressVPN for the 2026 World Cup has sparked outrage among top European football broadcasters.
La Liga and French media giants, including LFP Media and Canal+, have formally submitted a complaint to football's governing body, slamming the new sponsorship as a "disastrous" message to the football ecosystem, according to reports from French sports newspaper L'Equipe.
"La Liga believes that this agreement is manifestly incompatible with the principles of protecting football's audiovisual rights that should govern the actions of world football's governing body," said La Liga president Javier Tebas.
Rightsholders are furious that FIFA would accept sponsorship money from a company they previously targeted with lawsuits for "facilitating access to pirated content," Tebas added.
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