Tapmad has secured exclusive digital and television broadcast rights for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to take place in Belgium and the Netherlands. The acquisition carries particular significance for Pakistani audiences given that the national hockey team has qualified for the tournament after an eight-year absence from the World Cup, a return that has reignited public interest in a sport that once sat at the very heart of the country’s sporting identity. By holding rights across both digital and broadcast television platforms, tapmad is positioning itself to reach the widest possible audience across Pakistan, ensuring that fans in urban centres and beyond can follow the tournament live and in high definition.
The move is consistent with a deliberate investment strategy tapmad has been pursuing in international hockey properties over the past two years. The platform has previously broadcast the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2025, the FIH Hockey Pro League, and the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers Egypt 2026, building what it describes as the most comprehensive hockey content portfolio available in the region. Each successive rights acquisition has deepened the platform’s association with the sport at the international level, and the 2026 World Cup represents the most prominent addition to that portfolio to date. The platform has also committed to delivering coverage without advertisements, an approach aimed at providing an uninterrupted viewing experience that it hopes will further distinguish its offering for fans who have long waited for this level of dedicated hockey coverage.
Tapmad CEO Yassir Pasha described hockey as an integral part of Pakistan’s sporting identity and framed the World Cup rights acquisition as a continuation of the platform’s conscious effort, beginning in 2024, to bring the sport back into mainstream public attention. He noted that securing rights for a tournament of this scale reflects tapmad’s longer-term commitment to reviving hockey as a prominently followed sport in Pakistan rather than treating broadcast rights as a one-off commercial decision. With Pakistan’s return to the global stage after nearly a decade, and with live HD coverage now confirmed across digital and television channels, the stage is set for what the platform hopes will be a moment of genuine reconnection between the national team and a fan base that has followed the sport’s fortunes with both pride and patience.
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