FIFA, the world’s largest football governing association, yesterday launched a new online video streaming service: FIFA+. The new service will showcase live domestic league games from countries all over the world, new live productions an it also boasts a huge archive of already broadcast matches from as far back as the 1950s.
“FIFA is excited to announce the launch of FIFA+, a world-class digital platform created to connect football fans across the globe more deeply with the game they love, for free,” reads an announcement from FIFA about the launch of the new service. FIFA+ will provide live football matches, interactive games, news, tournament information, original video content and more.
“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,” he adds.
The federation says that it will be streaming 40,000 live men’s and women’s football games annually on the service by the end of the year. Matches from 100 member associations across six confederations. The FIFA+ archive section launched with more than 2,500 videos, including every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup match recorded for more than 2,000 hours of footage.
A match centre is also included in the service, which will provide a news feed and data from 400 men’s and 65 women’s competitions worldwide. Finally, the service will also provide a bevy of docu-series as part of the FIFA+ Originals which are localised in 11 different languages.
These include:
Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World – A feature film length documentary about Ronaldinho’s journey to becoming a world-renowned football player.
Croatia: Defining a Nation – A feature film length documentary about how football united the people of the country of Croatia.
Dani Crazy Dream – A six-part doc series on Dani Alves journey to the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Golden Boot – A four-part docu-series based on and around the greatest goalscorers in the history of FIFA.
Academies: Season 1 – An inside documentary series about how football talent is found and prepared for the big leagues.
FIFA+ seems to be shaping up to be a football fan’s wildest dream come true, with the service being completely subscription free and ad-supported meaning watchers won’t have to pay a cent.
The service can be streamed via web browser or mobile device on the Android or iOS apps.