Matches involving Arab teams at the FIFA World Cup 2026 attracted a cumulative audience of more than 2.1 billion viewers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to audience figures released by beIN SPORTS.
Citing independent audience measurement by Ipsos, the broadcaster said the 29 matches featuring Arab nations generated record viewership during the tournament, with Egypt’s Round of 16 clash against Argentina emerging as the most-watched Arab match. The game drew 192.6 million viewers despite ending in a 3-2 defeat for Egypt.
The tournament featured a record eight Arab teams following the expansion to 48 nations. Egypt reached the FIFA World Cup knockout stage for the first time, while Morocco became the first African and Arab nation to qualify for consecutive World Cup quarter-finals.
According to beIN, Morocco’s quarter-final against France attracted 151.6 million viewers, while Egypt’s Round of 32 victory over Australia drew 157.1 million viewers. Algeria’s knockout match against Switzerland was watched by 123.1 million people.
The broadcaster said the 23 group-stage matches involving Arab teams attracted a combined audience of 1.25 billion viewers, while the six knockout-stage fixtures drew 854 million viewers.
Mohammed Al-Bader, Managing Director of beIN Channels – MENA, said: “This has been a historic FIFA World CupTM for Arab football, and it has been an honour to bring every moment of it live and exclusive to fans across the region. A record eight Arab nations, Egypt’s first Round of 16, and Morocco’s back-to-back quarter-finals are achievements that belong to the entire region – and the record audiences that followed them tell their own story about the passion of our fans and the connection they share with their national teams. These are moments that will inspire a generation across the region, and we are proud that fans experienced every one of them on beIN.”
beIN SPORTS, which holds exclusive FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights across 24 markets in the MENA region, said it provided live coverage of every match during the tournament across eight dedicated channels.
