Communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa said the live matches will be of “high-ranking countries with many fans in Malaysia”, Bernama reported.

The Qatar World Cup will be held from Nov 20 to Dec 18. The first broadcast will be of the match between Qatar and Ecuador.

RTM is the official broadcaster for the tournament. Annuar said the matches will be broadcast on TV2, TV Okey and Sukan RTM and live-steamed via RTM Klik.

The broadcasts will cost RM32.5 million for a total of 130 hours of airtime. Annuar hoped private companies and government-linked companies would help to share the cost.

Six RTM sports presenters will be on duty during the live broadcasts, namely Syafiq Asyraf, Rasdi Jumaat, Zackhi Suri, Jeed Zulkefli, Aizuddin Shah and Mohd Nazri Shukri.

There will also be 12 guest presenters consisting of former players and national coaches who will provide commentary on the matches.