beIN offers 22 live Qatar World Cup games for free to MENA audiences

On the eve of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, beIN Media announced that it will broadcast 22 matches on its free-to-air beIN Sports channel in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The free-to-air coverage kicked off with Qatar versus Ecuador, with beIn calling the giveaway “a celebration of the first World Cup in the Arab world”.

The announcement means millions of fans across the 24-country MENA region have free access to the fixtures in question. The full 64 matches and wider coverage of the tournament can be accessed (for a fee) on the beIN Sports Max channels.

Mohammad Al-Subaie

Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN – MENA, said: “This is a celebration of a World Cup in and for the Arab world. When we first became Official Broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, our mission was to pursue every opportunity to open up access to the tournament. We remain committed to making our content widely available and we know how significant and unifying this tournament is for us all.”

The announcement came shortly after beIN unveiled an extensive coverage plan for the event. In addition to the content offered free-to-air, subscribers to beIN SPORTS have access to every game in four languages, across seven dedicated channels. Six of these channels are broadcasting more than 18 hours of content a day in HD while the seventh, beIN 4K, is showing all 64 games in Ultra-HD.

Mohammed Al-Bader, managing director of beIN Channels – MENA, said: “It is more than a decade since Qatar was awarded hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. In that time, we at beIN have worked tirelessly to ensure we provide an experience like never before seen anywhere in the world. With more than 20 state-of-the-art studios around the country, six brand new channels, extensive original coverage in four languages in HD and 4K, there is only once place to watch the greatest show on Earth, and that is undoubtedly on beIN SPORTS.”

In addition to live coverage, highlights and commentary, beIN has also produced more than 70 hours of in-house FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 content including original documentaries, features on the 32 qualified teams and more.