What you need to know
- FIFA+ is a new soccer streaming service from the sport's governing body.
- FIFA says that more than 40,000 live matches will be streamed annually.
- The FIFA+ service is ad-supported and free to watch.
FIFA, the governing body behind all of soccer, has announced its own streaming service. Dubbed FIFA+, the service will be ad-supported which means viewers won't have to pay a penny to watch any of its content. That content is expected to feature more than 40,000 live matches per year.
In an announcement release, FIFA outlined the kinds of content we can expect from the streaming service and it is heavily focused on making sure that live matches are available to be watched — often from parts of the world where such content might otherwise be unavailable. Women's soccer, as well as that at youth level, will also be a focus.
By the end of 2022, FIFA+ will be streaming the equivalent of 40,000 live games per year from 100 Member Associations across all six confederations, including 11,000 women's matches. FIFA+ offers live coverage from Europe's topflight leagues to previously unserved competitions from around the world in men's, women's and youth football. From launch, 1,400 matches will be live streamed monthly on FIFA+, rising rapidly.
FIFA also confirmed that an archive of old matches will be available to stream while original content will come in the form of documentaries, talk shows, and shorts that will be localized into 11 different languages. Content will include a feature-length documentary about Brazilian legend Ronaldinho as well as a docuseries following Dani Alves as the most decorated player in history works to book a spot at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
The new FIFA+ service will be available across the web and mobile devices while "a range of connected devices" will also get support "soon."
As for iPhone and iPad users, they can get the app from the App Store now. It's completely free and is worth checking out if you're a soccer fan.
