Top Websites to Watch The FIFA World Cup For Free

If you’re a football fan, there’s no question that you’ll be tuning in to watch most, if not all, of the 64 matches that are going to take place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13. The World Cup is definitely something no self-respecting football fan will want to miss and why watch ad-cluttered reruns through TV subscriptions when you can watch these matches live, and for free?

Here are five websites that will be streaming World Cup matches legally, for free. There is a catch though. These live streams are all limited to residents of certain countries, so you’ll either have to be residents of these countries or take advantage of VPNs and other methods to get your fix.

Still, if you’re a football fan, it’s probably worth the hassle. Let’s check out the list.

1. FIFA.com TV

What better way to watch the World Cup online than via FIFA’s own live, and completely free, streaming service? FIFA.com TV started in 2007 when FIFA decided to move the whole broadcasting procedure and operations in-house, which means that you’ll be getting the stream directly from FIFA.

The only catch is that it’s mostly only available in European countries. FIFA also has a lot of short videos you can watch to get you in the mood for the World Cup.

2. BBC And ITV

In the UK, the BBC and ITV will be sharing World Cup broadcast duties between them, on BBC’s iPlayer service and the ITV Player. Since the matches will be split between the two, you can check here for a comprehensive breakdown of what matches will be on which network.

The BBC will be using the same tried-and-tested technology they used for their London Olympics 2012 live streaming, so you should expect a steady stream with very few hiccups.

3. ARD Das Erste and ZDF

Like in the UK, Germans will be splitting their World Cup matches between two broadcasters, ZDF and ARD’s Das Erste channel. The two stations will split the 64 matches between them, and while there doesn’t seem to be a concrete schedule yet, we do know that ZDF will be showing the opening ceremony on June 12 while the July 13 final will be shown on Das Erste.

One thing to really look forward to is the fact that both websites will be offering additional multimedia content and additional camera angles beyond what you’ll get on TV.

4. NOS

NOS is the official Dutch broadcaster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. One of the best things about NOS is that they won’t just be showing the 64 matches of the World Cup. The NOS World Cup 2014 portal has all the news, schedules and multimedia content you’ll need to keep yourself updated with everything that’s happening, all in one place.

There might be a slight tendency to focus on Dutch national team news, but that’s understandable, and won’t matter one bit to fans of the Oranje.

5. SRF Player

The SRF Player is the official live stream of the Swiss SRG SSR public broadcasting organisation. SRG SSR is a non-profit public broadcaster that survives mostly on licensing fees, and thus both of their stations are free to watch online if you have a Swiss IP.

Like NOS, SRF will also be a one-stop location for all the latest news and happenings in Brazil, so you can keep track of the news and watch all your football matches in one place.