Fifa Club World Cup 2022 final to be shown live free on Channel 4 if Chelsea are in and will break English TV blackout
CHELSEA'S quest to win the Club World Cup will be shown LIVE for FREE in the United Kingdom - and could break English football's TV blackout rules.
Channel 4 have snapped up the rights to broadcast next week's tournament live from the United Arab Emirates.
Regular viewers of A Place in The Sun will be watching a special sporty edition on Saturday 12 February in the searing Middle East heat.
The final will be live on Channel 4 from 4pm if Chelsea make it through their semi-final tie.
And C4 will be allowed to break the blackout rule for the 4.30pm kick-off because the World Club Cup is Fifa-run.
Since the 1960s, the TV blackout has run from 2.45pm to 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons, apart from a brief relaxing of the rules during lockdown.
Made in Chelsea viewers will be watching a different kind of reality show on Wednesday 9 February with the semi-final live on E4.
Chelsea are yet to discover their semi-final opponents and will face either Al Hilal, Al Jazira or AS Pirae.
BETTING SPECIAL - BEST FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS FOR THE AFCON
Most read in Football
Brazilian side Palmeiras have joined Chelsea in being given a bye to the semi-final stage.
Channel 4's Head of Sport Pete Andrews said: "This is one of the few major honours to have eluded Chelsea so it'd be great if they can make history live on Channel 4.
"We're delighted to be bringing top-flight football live on free to air terrestrial television, let's just hope The Blues can go all the way."
The last non-European side to win the Club World Cup were Corinthians in 2012 - when they beat Chelsea 1-0 in Japan.
Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona have all brought the trophy back to Europe in recent years.