FIFA Shuts Down Over 1,000 Illegal World Cup Streaming Sites, Including Huri Batas TV

Kathmandu. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has shut down more than 1,000 websites and links illegally streaming FIFA World Cup matches in Nepal, including the popular platform Huri Batas TV, as part of an anti-piracy campaign coordinated with the tournament's official broadcasters.

In Nepal, the official broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup have been granted to Spro Media Pvt. Ltd., which has sublicensed television broadcasting rights to Himalayan Sports and digital streaming rights to DishHome. The matches are being streamed digitally through DishHome's OTT platform, Dgo.

According to Ashish Lamichhane, information officer at Dgo, efforts to identify and remove unauthorized streaming platforms have intensified since the opening match of the tournament.

“More than 500 links identified and reported by us were blocked by FIFA during the first match alone,” Lamichhane said. “However, new links continue to appear every day. Overall, more than 1,000 unauthorized streaming links and websites have been blocked so far.”

Lamichhane said FIFA's central anti-piracy team is directly supporting the effort. While the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) and internet service providers are responsible for blocking access to unauthorized sites within Nepal, FIFA oversees international enforcement measures.

According to Dgo, FIFA employs artificial intelligence-powered bots and web crawlers to detect illegal live-streaming links and server IP addresses within seconds. The system then alerts internet service providers, enabling rapid takedown of unauthorized broadcasts, even while matches are underway.

FIFA’s copyright enforcement team is also actively removing pirated content shared through social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram and X.

Despite these efforts, combating piracy remains challenging as mirror sites, new domains and unauthorized applications continue to emerge. Users can also bypass restrictions using VPNs, proxy services and the Tor network, making complete enforcement difficult.

To address the issue, Dgo has established a dedicated anti-piracy unit to monitor and report illegal streaming links circulating on social media and messaging platforms.

“We have an internal anti-piracy team that tracks unauthorized links shared through posts, comments and messaging platforms, and coordinates with FIFA and the concerned authorities to have them removed,” Lamichhane said.

The Nepal government has also stepped up efforts to stop illegal streaming. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has directed the Nepal Telecommunications Authority to block unauthorized streaming platforms and websites.

According to NTA Deputy Director Surya Prasad Lamichhane, more than 45 unauthorized platforms have been blocked domestically.

Among them is Huri Batas TV, a platform that compiled content from multiple television channels available in Nepal, including broadcasts from Himalayan Sports. Authorities said the platform was shut down for distributing copyrighted World Cup content without authorization.

Officials say anti-piracy efforts will continue throughout the tournament as authorities work to limit unauthorized access to World Cup broadcasts.

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