The world’s oldest club competition is back and you can watch FA Cup live streams all over the planet. As the first round proper gets underway, FourFourTwo’s handy guide is here to help you tune into the 2024/25 action wherever you are in the world.
UK viewers can watch FA Cup matches for free, with rights shared between the BBC and ITV. Fans in the US and Australia can watch games by subscribing to ESPN or Optus Sport, respectively – they’ll even get to watch a few matches that aren’t available in the UK. There’s no need to worry if you’re going to be overseas for any FA Cup action, either, because you can use a VPN to watch your usual service as if you were back home. Find out more below.
This weekend marks the start of the FA Cup proper, as EFL League One and League Two sides join the competition. While Premier League and Championship teams won’t enter the fray until the new year, there are plenty of mouth-watering ties to look forward to – notably League One big-spenders Birmingham City heading to Sutton Utd (a team with a famous giant-killing past) and the Hollywood glamour of Wrexham paying Harrogate Town a visit.
Read on to find out how to watch FA Cup live streams from anywhere.
This week’s televised FA Cup first round fixtures and channels
Friday, November 1
| Header Cell – Column 0 | UK | US | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamworth vs Huddersfield Town | BBC (k/o 7.45pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 3.45pm ET, 12.45pm PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 6.45am AEDT, Saturday) |
Saturday, November 2
| Header Cell – Column 0 | UK | US | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Rovers vs Weston Super Mare | No UK broadcaster (k/o 3.00pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 11.00am ET, 8.00am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 2.00am AEDT, Sunday) |
| Northampton Town vs Kettering Town | BBC (k/o 5.30pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 1.30pm ET, 10.30am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 4.30am AEDT, Sunday) |
Sunday, November 3
| Header Cell – Column 0 | UK | US | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Utd vs Birmingham City | ITV (k/o 12.30pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 7..30am ET, 4.30am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 11.30pm AEDT) |
| Boreham Wood vs Leyton Orient | No UK broadcaster (k/o 2.00pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 9.00am ET, 6.00am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 1.00am AEDT, Monday) |
| Curzon Ashton vs Mansfield Town | No UK broadcaster (k/o 2.00pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 9.00am ET, 6.00am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 1.00am AEDT, Monday) |
| Harrogate Town vs Wrexham | ITV (k/o 3.30pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 10.30am ET, 7.30am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 2.30am AEDT, Monday) |
Monday, November 4
| Header Cell – Column 0 | UK | US | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesham Utd vs Lincoln City | ITV (k/o 7.15pm GMT) | ESPN (k/o 2.15pm ET, 11.15am PT) | Optus Sport (k/o 6.15am AEDT, Tuesday) |
Watch FA Cup live streams for free in the UK
In the UK, you can watch FA Cup live streams for free courtesy of the BBC or ITV. A selection of matches in every round are shared between the two broadcasters and will be shown on both the broadcasters’ terrestrial TV channels, and their respective BBC iPlayer and ITVX streaming services. Don’t forget, however, that you’ll need a valid TV Licence to tune in.
British fans away from home can still watch FA Cup live streams as they would back home by using a quality VPN such as NordVPN, to watch your usual free stream when overseas. Read on to find out how.
Use a VPN to watch from anywhere
If you’re overseas when the FA Cup first round kicks off, annoyingly your usual on-demand services won’t work. That’s because your IP address tells the broadcaster you’re in another country, and you’ll subsequently be blocked from tuning in – not ideal if you’ve already paid up for a subscription service you’re not able to use.
Thankfully there is another option that doesn’t involve resorting to one of those illegal feeds on Reddit. All you need is a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a handy piece of software which can make it look like your device is still back at home.
Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to create a private connection between your device and choice and the internet, meaning the streamer can’t work out where you are and won’t automatically block the service you’ve paid for. All the info going between is also entirely encrypted – and that’s a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, but FourFourTwo’s brainy office mates TechRadar are big fans of NordVPN:
Watch FA Cup live streams in the US
American fans can watch FA Cup live streams on the ESPN+ streaming service. A subscription will cost you $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year, but – if you’d like to watch TV and movies as well – bundle packages featuring ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu start from just $16.99 per month.
If you already use ESPN+ but aren’t in the US right now, you can watch FA Cup live streams by using a VPN such as NordVPN.
Watch FA Cup live streams in Australia
The FA Cup has a new home Down Under. Optus Sport – also your destination for all 380 Premier League matches this season – is the new rights holder, and will show a selection of live games over the course of the season, some of which won’t be shown on UK TV.
A subscription costs $24.99 AUD per month, but you can make a substantial saving if you sign up for the whole year – the $229 AUD annual subscription will save you more than five bucks a month.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
