ESPN has reached an agreement with the English Football Association (FA) for the media rights to the Emirates FA Cup in the United States for the next four seasons, 2024-’25 through 2027-’28. The agreement extends ESPN+’s position as the exclusive home of 79 Emirates FA Cup matches each season, beginning with the First Round and running through to the Final at London’s Wembley Stadium. The agreement also includes the FA Community Shield, the annual season-opening match between the latest Emirates FA Cup winners and Premier League titleholders which will also stream exclusively on ESPN+. Additional content will feature across ESPN+ and other ESPN platforms, including Emirates FA Cup preview shows, branded highlights shows, and live coverage of Emirates FA Cup draws.
ESPN+ has been the exclusive home of the Emirates FA Cup in the United States since the 2018-’19 season. The renewal agreement was brokered by the competition’s media rights partner in the United States, IMG.
“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the FA and to offer fans in the United States the best European cup competitions and domestic leagues in the sport,” said Tim Bunnell, Senior Vice President, Programming and Acquisition, ESPN. “The Emirates FA Cup is an iconic, historic, and resonant competition, and offering it as part of the robust content offering on ESPN+ continues to make the platform a must-have for soccer fans.”
James Gray, The FA’s Commercial Director, added: “It’s an exciting time for soccer in the US, with the game’s growth evident for all to see, and the FIFA World Cup in North America on the horizon. ESPN has been our valued partner for many years, so we’re really happy that they will continue to share the unique stories of the Emirates FA Cup with their audiences until 2028.”
Hillary Mandel, Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial, Americas for IMG’s media business, added: “The Emirates FA Cup remains a key event on ESPN+ and this deal demonstrates the ongoing appeal for one of soccer’s most prestigious cup competitions, which continues to grow. We’re pleased to extend the successful partnership with ESPN so fans in the US can continue to watch their favorite teams and players.”
The knock-out competition in England joins the DFB Pokal (Germany) and Copa del Rey (Spain) to complete a triad of domestic cup competitions among the sport’s top four leagues available on ESPN+. In addition, ESPN+ is the U.S. home to matches from LALIGA (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), the Dutch Eredivisie, Supercopa de España, and more.