ITV and Channel 5 are the two main bidders for the rights to show the Club World Cup on TV this summer, The i Paper has learned.
DAZN are the global rights holders for the tournament after winning a one-horse race with a $1bn (£800m) bid at the end of last year.
But the broadcaster, in which the PIF-owned Saudi Arabian investment company SURJ acquired a minority stake last month, is sub-licensing the rights in major territories – including the UK.
ITV is understood to have made a zero-pounds bid, although DAZN would recoup some funds through third-party sponsorship and airtime sales.
The i Paper understands Channel 5 are also in the running on a similar basis, although the US-owned broadcaster is expected to give the tournament greater exposure by putting high-profile fixtures, including Chelsea and Manchester City games and the semi-finals and final.
ITV’s plan is understood to involve largely showing games on ITV4.
The BBC and Channel 4 are said to have ruled themselves out of the running.
DAZN have already successfully sub-licensed TV rights in the host country, the USA, to Warner Bros Discovery, who own TNT Sports. They will show 24 of the tournament’s 63 games while Televista will show 18 games in a Spanish language setting.
TNT Sports are also a major sports broadcaster in the UK, but it is believed they are unlikely to bid because Fifa would prefer a free-to-air broadcaster to maximise the tournament’s visibility, especially in a major market like the home of the Premier League.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino is the chief evangelist of the revamped, 32-team tournament, calling the Club World Cup “the most widely accessible club football tournament ever”.
DAZN has also struck deals with local broadcasters in Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa.
Selling the TV rights for the Club World Cup had been a long-running struggle for Fifa, ahead of it starting on 15 June.
The Italian called an emergency meeting with broadcasters in September to try and drum up business, but many broadcasters appeared to have steered clear due to the controversy surrounding the tournament.
But DAZN stepped in three months later to provide the $1bn fee, which represents half the tournament’s budget and the total prize money pot, before embarking upon a worldwide search for sub-licensees to meet Fifa’s objectives of getting the new quadrennial tournament in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
“It was imperative for Fifa to ensure that as many football fans across the world could follow the action,” Infantino said.
“This agreement with DAZN guarantees that in terms of broadcasting, the new Fifa Club World Cup will be the most widely accessible club football tournament ever.”