FIFA is launching an online video service that will deliver over 40,000 matches in 2020. FIFA+ will provide live domestic league games from around the globe, match statistics, a deep archive and premium original programming. It will not include any coverage from the forthcoming World Cup. Most of the matches will be limited to territories with lesser-known and underserved international leagues. FIFA says that it is the first sports federation ever to offer such an extensive streaming and content experience to its fans. It is aiming for 200 million unique users by the end of 2022.
“FIFA+ represents the next step in our vision to make football truly global and inclusive, and it underpins FIFA’s core mission of expanding and developing football globally,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023. It will accelerate the democratisation of football and we are delighted to share it with fans.”
FIFA+ offers live coverage from Europe’s top flight leagues to previously unserved competitions from around the world in men’s, women’s, and youth football.
From launch, FIFA+ will offer 1,400 live matches a month. 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.
Leading uptimes to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, FIFA+ will offer every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup match ever recorded on camera, a total of more than 2,000 hours of archive content. Fans will have the ability to watch full-match replays, highlights, goals and magical moments.
The Match Centre will allow football fans to immerse themselves in rich football data across 400 men’s competitions and 65 women’s competitions. A daily feed of news from around the world of men’s and women’s football will also complement and offer additional updates. Throughout the year, fans will enjoy interactive games including votes, quizzes, fantasy games and predictors.
FIFA original productions 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 be available across all web and mobile devices, and across a range of connected devices soon. It will be available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with an additional six languages to follow in June of 2022.
FIFA+ represents an ambitious offering to a global audience of football fans. Notably it is a free offering, supported by advertising and sponsorship, at least for now.
“There is no plan to charge a subscription fee for the service. That doesn’t mean to say that we may not evolve over time should there be a value proposition that allows us to charge subscription if we step into premium rights or adopt other kind of models, but there will always be a free experience on Fifa+.” said Charlotte Burr, the director of strategy Charlotte Burr at FIFA.