World Cup 2026 Matches Today: Schedules and Where to Watch the Quarter-finals

Today, July 12, 2026, there is no law under processing in either the Congress or the Senate that modifies the basic regime for broadcasting major sporting events (list of “events of general interest” or Royal Decree 991/2022). The regulation that requires certain events to be broadcast free-to-air remains the Law 13/2022, General Audiovisual Communication Law and the Royal Decree 991/2022, which remains in force without changes. What is underway is a Royal Decree-law on events of exceptional public interest (RDL 12/2026), already ratified and in the processing phase as a bill, but focused on tax incentives, not on free television access.

Current framework for broadcasting major sporting events

The current scheme rests on two pieces:

• Law 13/2022, of July 7, General Audiovisual Communication Law, which defines the concept of “events of general interest to society” and the obligation that they be viewable free-to-air.
• Royal Decree 991/2022, of September 27, which specifies the catalog of those events (matches of the Spanish National Football Team in official competitions, Copa del Rey finals, major international tournaments, etc.). The text can be consulted in the BOE through the general page of the Official State Gazette.

According to the information gathered, in the 2025-2026 period no reform of Law 13/2022 nor a new royal decree updating the list of RD 991/2022 regarding major sporting events has been initiated or is under parliamentary processing.

Recent sector analyses on broadcasting rights and events of general interest confirm that the framework remains that designed by Law 13/2022 and RD 991/2022, without changes in 2025-2026 (for example, see the legal summaries by Cuatrecasas or AGM Abogados, as well as the Instituto Autor analysis on online sports content at [link] and the encyclopedic summary on Wikipedia).

What is under processing: events of exceptional public interest

In parallel to the “general interest” regime (which has consequences on free-to-air broadcasting), the Government uses the figure of “events of exceptional public interest”, which mainly serve to activate tax advantages for sports and cultural sponsorship.

In 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree-law on events of exceptional public interest, referred to in the official Moncloa reference of May 26, 2026 (Council of Ministers reference). This decree declares 26 events (cultural, sporting, scientific, etc.) as of exceptional public interest and, among other matters, includes measures on the tax regime of the 2027 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid, as also detailed by the newspaper Demócrata in its Council of Ministers summaries ([link] and [link]).

This Royal Decree-law has continued processing in the Congress:

• The official note from Congress about the plenary agenda of June 10, 2026 explains that the Plenary would see the ratification of the decree-law on events of exceptional public interest (Congress press release).
• On June 18, another note from Congress confirms that the Plenary ratified the Royal Decree-law by 304 votes in favor, 33 against, and 10 abstentions, and also agreed to process it as a bill by urgent procedure (note on ratification).
• The newspaper Demócrata reports this ratification and the opening of processing as a bill in an informative format at “Fren answers: what has been approved this week in Congress?” and in the specific chronicle of the debate on Pope Leo XIV’s visit (Demócrata article).

Therefore, RDL 12/2026 is currently at the bill stage in Congress, with parliamentary groups presenting amendments. But this processing affects tax incentives and the symbolic consideration of certain events, not their mandatory free-to-air broadcasting as “events of general interest”.

Other related but non-determinant initiatives

There are regulatory and political pieces that touch the sport-audiovisual intersection, but without directly altering the regime of major broadcasts:

• The Royal Decree-law 16/2026, of June 16, to guarantee the provision of RTVE public service, already published in the BOE (text in BOE) and previously approved in the Council of Ministers (Moncloa reference). Its processing as a bill (file 121/000037) is in Congress with an extended amendment deadline until September 2, 2026, according to the parliamentary file (initiative 121/000037). It affects RTVE governance and legal regime, not the catalog of events of general interest.
• Politically, parties like Podemos have promoted proposals to create a figure of “sports event of special public interest” to facilitate giant screens and collective viewings, as Demócrata reports in this article, but these are orientation initiatives, not an approved law.
• RTVE, under its public service mandate and Law 13/2022, is deploying extraordinary coverage of events like the 2026 World Cup, as described in chronicles by Demócrata or specialized media like Panorama Audiovisual ([link]), but this is business and programming management, not new regulation.

Conclusion on the processing stage

In summary: the regulation governing which major sporting events must be broadcast free-to-air is not currently being reformed in the Cortes. The regime remains that of Law 13/2022 and Royal Decree 991/2022, with no open modification file. What is under processing is the bill derived from RDL 12/2026 on events of exceptional public interest, already ratified, which impacts tax incentives linked to some events (including some sporting ones), but does not currently alter the obligations of free-to-air broadcasting.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) plays a pivotal role in international competitions as a bridge between Spanish football and international organizations. According to its statutes and FIFA and UEFA regulations, it is the entity that represents Spain before these organizations, manages the participation of national teams, controls the access of Spanish clubs to European competitions through the UEFA license, and oversees international tournaments held on Spanish territory. All this is done within a framework of federative autonomy from the Government, but with delegated public functions recognized by the Sports Law.

Institutional framework and federative hierarchy

As explained in Demócrata’s analysis of the federative model and the ‘Rubiales case’, national federations like the RFEF are private entities exercising delegated public powers (organizing competitions, licenses, referees, etc.) and are part of a pyramidal structure: FIFA and UEFA occupy a hierarchically superior position, national federations are subordinate to them, and in turn include regional federations.

In this scheme, the RFEF must comply with and enforce the statutes, regulations, and decisions of FIFA and UEFA, as well as the Rules of the Game, as detailed in its own institutional and regulatory information available on the federation’s website (institutional information, regulations and rules). This position is key, for example, in Spain’s candidacy and subsequent designation as host country for the 2030 World Cup, where the Government has created an interministerial commission to coordinate with the RFEF, as noted in official releases such as La Moncloa’s note on FIFA’s designation (FIFA 2030 note).

National teams and country competitions

In the area of national teams, the statutes of Spanish federations of other sports (rowing, sailing, aeronautics, table tennis) published in the BOE —for example, the Rowing Federation (Rowing Statutes), Sailing Federation (Sailing Statutes), Aeronautics Federation (Aeronautics Statutes) or Table Tennis Federation (Table Tennis Statutes)— define a common pattern that the RFEF reproduces:

• Represent Spain in official international activities and competitions held inside and outside Spanish territory.
• Select the athletes who make up the national teams in those competitions.
• Organize or oversee official international competitions held in Spain, under coordination with the Higher Sports Council (CSD).
• Supervise Spanish participation in international events, planning high-level competition and national team activity.

Applied to football, this means only the RFEF can register and present the Spanish national team in FIFA World Cups or UEFA European Championships, schedule friendly matches —such as the Spain–Serbia friendly mentioned by Demócrata (Spain–Serbia preview)— and negotiate alternative venues for major matches, like the possible Finalissima Spain–Argentina in Madrid (Finalissima in Madrid).

Spanish clubs and UEFA competitions

The RFEF does not organize the Champions League or Europa League, which are UEFA competitions, but it assumes essential functions so that Spanish clubs can participate:

• By delegation from UEFA, it issues the “UEFA license”, essential for a club to compete in European tournaments. This license requires meeting sporting, infrastructure, administrative, legal, and financial criteria, as specialized analyses on the club-federation relationship show (club–RFEF relationship).
• It integrates UEFA competitions into its own system of official competitions, so that, for disciplinary and organizational purposes, they are equated with state competitions regulated by its General Regulations (General Regulations, Competition Regulations).
• It must ensure that clubs and fans respect FIFA/UEFA disciplinary regulations on racism, violence, or competitive integrity, as shown by frequent European sanctions and media coverage of disciplinary cases.

This position also has economic competition implications, as illustrated by the CNMC investigation into UEFA for possible competition restriction in organizing European tournaments (CNMC note), where the role of national federations is analyzed from a regulatory perspective.

International competitions on Spanish territory

When an international tournament —of national teams or clubs— is held in Spain, the RFEF acts as organizer or overseer of the event on the federative level. The common scheme described in other federations (rowing, sailing, aeronautics, basketball) and also included in the Basketball Federation’s agreement with the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (FEB–gambling agreement) can be summarized as:

• Qualify the official nature of the competition.
• Authorize its holding in Spain and coordinate it with the CSD and other administrations.
• Exercise sports disciplinary authority over Spanish participants and, when appropriate, over the match’s development.

In practice, this has been seen in controversial decisions about venues (such as the Supercup in Saudi Arabia, analyzed by Demócrata in economic and political terms regarding revenue sharing between federation and clubs: Supercup and revenue sharing) and in organizing institutional “fan zones” for major events, like the one in Colón, Madrid for the 2026 World Cup (Colón fan zone).

Relationship with public authorities and federative autonomy

From a political-regulatory point of view, the key is that FIFA and UEFA require national federations to be independent from government interference; therefore, as Demócrata recalls, the Spanish Government cannot directly dismiss the RFEF president and must act through the CSD and the Sports Administrative Tribunal. Law 39/2022 on Sports strengthens public supervision capacity but maintains federative autonomy in international representation, something also emphasized in general analyses on the current moment of Spanish sport (“The now or never of Spanish sport”).

In summary, in international competitions the RFEF not only “organizes matches” but assumes Spain’s representation in the FIFA–UEFA system, controls who and how can compete in Europe, and serves as the mandatory interface between Spanish public institutions and the private governance of world football. This position explains both its enormous political and social influence and the special sensitivity generated by its internal crises.

Other cited or related links in the sources: Extremadura Assembly event, Community of Madrid Award, CSD–Del Bosque commission, Interministerial World Cup 2030 commission, Spanish sport analysis, [link], [link].

In Spain, any platform wishing to exploit the television rights of the World Cup must, on one hand, be a legally authorized provider of audiovisual television communication services and, on the other, comply with the special regime of the so-called “events of general interest to society.” Law 13/2022, General Audiovisual Communication Law requires that certain phases of the World Cup (semifinals and final, and official matches of the Spanish national team) be broadcast free-to-air and conditions the exercise of exclusive rights. Additionally, the purchase of rights must comply with competition rules and CNMC supervision, in line with what Royal Decree-law 5/2015 establishes for professional football rights. No “special World Cup license” is required, but compliance with this set of regulatory requirements is.

1. Main regulatory framework

The relevant legal regime is essentially based on three pieces:

• Law 13/2022, General Audiovisual Communication Law, which regulates who can be a television service provider, how to access the market (licenses or prior notifications), and the treatment of events of general interest to society, including the football World Cup, as expressly included in its event catalog.
• Royal Decree-law 5/2015, on the commercialization of audiovisual rights of professional football competitions, which sets principles of freedom of enterprise, transparent commercialization conditions, and the supervisory role of the CNMC in centralized rights sales.
• Royal Decree 2/2018, which develops RDL 5/2015, mainly focused on contributions derived from those rights, but confirms the strategic nature of audiovisual rights and their link to the general interest of professional sport (Royal Decree 2/2018).

2. Requirements to operate as a television platform

Law 13/2022 distinguishes between terrestrial hertzian wave television (TDT) and other supports (cable, satellite, IPTV, OTT):

• The provision of audiovisual television communication service generally requires a reliable and prior notification to the competent audiovisual authority before starting activity.
• If the service is provided via terrestrial hertzian waves, a prior license granted by the competent authority through a competition is required; at the state level, license granting corresponds to the Council of Ministers, and also involves a concession for the use of the radio spectrum.
• License holders may be natural or legal persons who:
  • Have nationality or registered office in an EU Member State (or a state recognizing equivalent reciprocity).
  • Respect participation limits in capital when involving third-country persons (e.g., individual participation cannot exceed 25% of share capital, nor 50% if multiple persons, according to Law 13/2022).
• Those who cannot hold licenses include:
  • Those who have been firmly sanctioned with license revocation in the previous two years.
  • Those controlled by persons in that situation.
  • Those convicted of especially serious crimes related to fundamental rights, or subject to contracting prohibitions under the Public Sector Contracts Law.

In summary, to legally exploit World Cup rights in Spain, the platform must be a registered and authorized provider under Law 13/2022, whether as a free-to-air channel, pay channel, or on-demand service.

3. World Cup as an event of general interest

Law 13/2022 provides a catalog of events of general interest to society, approved by Council of Ministers Agreement with a four-year validity. The legal text itself establishes that this catalog may include, among others:

• “The semifinals and final, both men’s and women’s, of the European Football Championship and the Football World Cup.”
• “Official matches of the Spanish men’s and women’s senior national football teams.”

These events must be broadcast by free-to-air and nationwide television services. Additionally:

• Providers may contract content on an exclusive basis, free-to-air or pay, but “the right to broadcast exclusively (…) shall not be exercised in such a way as to deprive a substantial part of the public residing in another Member State of the possibility to follow events classified as of general interest to society.”
• If a platform acquires exclusive rights to the World Cup, it must organize its exploitation (e.g., through sublicenses or partial rights transfers) so that the semifinals, final, and Spain’s matches can be viewed free-to-air throughout the national territory.

4. Access for other operators and news summaries

Law 13/2022 also establishes access rights for other media:

• The holder of exclusive rights over an event of general interest must allow other providers to broadcast a brief news summary under “reasonable, objective, and non-discriminatory” conditions.
• This summary:
  • Can only be broadcast in news programs and current affairs informational programs.
  • If it lasts less than 90 seconds and is offered deferred, it does not generate economic compensation beyond technical costs.
  • Must visibly include the logo or brand of the organizing entity and the main sponsor.
• In radio, providers have free access to stadiums and venues to broadcast live, in exchange for compensation equivalent to generated costs; the Constitutional Court has upheld this scheme in STC 7/2023.

5. Competition rules and supervision

Although Royal Decree-law 5/2015 focuses on Spanish professional football competitions, it sets relevant criteria for any large football rights package:

• Commercialization is governed by the principle of freedom of enterprise, within the framework of competition law.
• General commercialization conditions must be public, transparent, and non-discriminatory, and the CNMC must be informed in advance about them.

Applied to the World Cup, this means that the acquisition and resale of rights in Spain must comply with competition regulations and avoid concentrations or conditions that unjustifiably close the market to other operators.