FA Cup to be streamed on Facebook

Facebook faces off with the FA Cup
Facebook faces off with the FA Cup

The opening game of the FA Cup is to be streamed live on Facebook, after the social network struck a deal with the Football Association.

The match will be the first ever to be broadcast on Facebook as Ascot United and Wembley FC kick off the tournament.

Although this means you won't be seeing Premier League calibre players perform, it's great news for both teams as the potential audience for the game is massive.

The game will be shown on Budweiser's Facebook page and will be accessible through an app built by the beer company.

Kicking off

Speaking about the event, Iain Newell, Marketing Director, Budweiser UK, said: "As a long-standing supporter of football globally, Budweiser is committed to bringing the world's most prestigious knockout competition closer to the fans. What better way to demonstrate this than by broadcasting the very first kick to a global audience via Facebook.

"This is the first time a FA Cup tournament fixture has been broadcast live on the social network, which is great news for football fans and clubs alike."

There is an age restriction on the stream, though – you have to be of legal drinking age. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that Budweiser will be offering free beer to go with the footie.

Facebook has been ramping up its live coverage of events recently, as well as offering things such as movies to watch through the social network.

Live streaming coverage of the game will begin on Facebook Friday 19 August at 7.30pm.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.