FA Cup football match to be streamed live on Facebook

In a first for the social network, offer a live stream of the opening match in this year’s FA Cup football (soccer) tournament in England is to be offered on Facebook.

While it’s not a big match – it features non-league teams Ascot FC and Wembley FC – it’s a big deal for Facebook’s ambitions as a player in the media industry, even if it isn’t directly involved in the move.

While Facebook has its own live video streaming channel, which it has used to present interviews with famous people and some of its own press conferences, this match will be streamed by FA Cup sponsor, beer brand Budweiser via an app on its Facebook page. In accordance with standard practice in the drinks industry, the page will only be available to those aged 18 or over – legal drinking age for alcohol in the UK.

The match kicks off on Friday evening at 7:45pm, and while Facebook isn’t directly involved, it helps bear out Mark Zuckerberg’s comments at the eG8 summit this year, where he said he wanted his company to enabled media to become more social. Streaming sport live on Facebook is definitely a step towards that goal.