Providing Maldivians with free access to watch all matches of this year’s World Cup, without any additional charges or fees, is a gift from the government of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to the youth of the Maldives, according to PSM Managing Director Ahmed Shakeeb.
All matches of the FIFA World Cup, which will begin in June in the United States, Mexico and Canada, will be broadcast through PSM channels via MediaNet. A special ceremony was held on Thursday to sign the agreement.
MediaNet has secured the official broadcasting licence for the FIFA World Cup in the Maldives. The agreement between MediaNet and PSM is a sublicensing arrangement. Under this agreement, MediaNet customers will be able to watch the matches through PSM channels without any additional fees or subscription packages.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, PSM Managing Director Ahmed Shakeeb assured that all World Cup matches, pre-shows and related programmes will be aired on PSM’s YES TV and related channels.
Managing Director Shakeeb noted that this opportunity for PSM was made possible with significant support from MediaNet, and he expressed gratitude to MediaNet’s management on behalf of PSM and the Maldivian public.
He also explained the reason behind making arrangements for the public to watch all World Cup matches free of charge.
“We believe this major international tournament is not just a sporting event. It is something that fosters unity, togetherness and a shared spirit among people. From the perspective of Maldivian history and sports culture, football in particular plays a very important role in strengthening national unity and reviving the national spirit,” said Shakeeb.
He emphasised that enabling Maldivians to watch such a tournament for free is highly important for national unity, and that this initiative reflects the government’s commitment to that goal.
Shakeeb added that the government wanted to ensure that Maldivians could watch the World Cup free of charge, describing it as a gift from the government to the youth of the country.
PSM has already begun preparations to broadcast all matches, pre-shows and related programmes of the tournament.
The first FIFA World Cup broadcast to Maldivians was the 1986 tournament held in Mexico, aired by Television Maldives (now PSM).