FIFA is excited to announce the launch of FIFA+, a new streaming digital platform created to connect football fans across the globe more deeply with the game they love, for free.
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FIFA+ will provide access to live football matches from every corner of the world, interactive games, news, tournament information, new exclusive video content delivering truly global storytelling around the men’s and women’s game and much more.
FIFA is the first world sports federation ever to offer such an extensive streaming and content experience to its fans.
Live Matches
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.
We would be intrigued to see how broadcasting rights are affected. It is free, so we are expecting lots of adverts.
FIFA+ Archive
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, FIFA+ will be home to every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup™ match ever recorded on camera, totalling more than 2,000 hours of archive content.
This entire archive will be available to fans. Fans will have the ability to watch full-match replays, highlights, goals and magical moments all in one place. The FIFA+ Archive will launch with more than 2,500 videos dating back to the 1950s, with many more to come throughout the year.
This is the bit that intrigues us. Lots of games for free!!
FIFA+ Originals
FIFA+ will also provide unrivalled content delivering global storytelling around the men’s and women’s game. It will feature full-length documentaries, docuseries, talk shows and shorts – localised into 11 languages, telling stories from local grassroots to national teams and footballing heroes past and present from more than 40 countries.
From launch, FIFA+ will bring the game to life through exclusive, world-class titles including:
- Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World – An exclusive, feature-length documentary offering extensive access to and never-seen-before archive of one of the most iconic players to have played the game. The 90-minute film directed by Stuart and Andrew Douglas, produced by Bernie Goldmann and by Simon Horsman and Jeffrey Soros of Los Angeles Media Fund, tells the unique story of the player’s life, charting his rise from the streets of Brazil to becoming one of football’s most loved players. Lionel Messi, Frank Rijkaard and Carles Puyol all feature and reveal what this FIFA Legend means to them.
- Captains: Season 1 – A ground-breaking 8-part series from Fulwell 73 (Sunderland ‘Til I Die, All or Nothing: Juventus) following six captains as they lead their countries through qualification for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. The series, which will explore each individual’s leadership traits, features Luka Modrić (Croatia), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Brian Kaltak (Vanuatu), Andre Blake (Jamaica), Hassan Maatouk (Lebanon) and Thiago Silva (Brazil).
- Croatia: Defining a Nation – This original feature-length documentary tells the story of how football unites and binds this nation and a group of friends who reached global recognition against the backdrop of the most extreme adversity. They each became legends and painted their country across the world. From acclaimed director Louis Myles (Kaiser: The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football, Liverpool FC: The 30-Year Wait).
- HD Cutz – An original 8-part docuseries with barber to the stars Sheldon Edwards talking food, fashion, music and, sometimes, football. Featuring the likes of Paul Pogba and Antonio Rüdiger, produced by MOTIF Pictures and Fever Media.
- Dani Crazy Dream –An all-access 6 x 30-minute documentary series featuring Dani Alves, the most decorated player in history as he tries to make it to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Produced by Alves’s own production company, Maracanã Media.
- Golden Boot –An original 4 x 48-minute docuseries interviewing the greatest FIFA World Cup goalscorers, produced by Goalhanger Films (Wayne Rooney: The Man Behind the Goals). Episode 1 sees Gary Lineker sitting down with Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazário to rewatch the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
- Icons – A 5 x 26-minute docuseries showcasing five of the biggest game-changers of the women’s game: Wendie Renard, Lucy Bronze, Asisat Oshoala, Carli Lloyd and Sam Kerr telling their stories in their own words. Produced by Noah Media Group (14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, Finding Jack Charlton).
- Academies – The inside story of some of the greatest talent production lines in world football from Shoot the Company. Season 1 tells the story of RSC Anderlecht across 3 x 30-minute episodes.
Our Thoughts
We are very intrigued to what direction they take it. At the moment it is free, so sign up if you love football. The original content sounds hit and miss to me – we are more interested in the Captains and Golden Boot series than the others. The world cup matches archive, we are very interested in to go back and watch some matches we would not normally watch.
It has got some way to go to match other streaming service, but lets see how it goes.
For More Information
Information from press release provided to us, and as always our thoughts are our own.
From launch, FIFA+ will be available across all web and mobile devices, and across a range of connected devices soon. It will be available in five language editions (English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish), with an additional six languages to follow in June of 2022.
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