Are you ready for some football? No, not that, football. Association football – soccer for most Americans – starts this month. While TV coverage is limited, there are tons of streaming options for fans of the beautiful game.
UEFA Champions League
UEFA, Europe’s governing body for soccer, puts on the annual competition for the top teams from all the leagues around Europe. Each of the major leagues’ top teams qualify to be in the tournament. Qualifying rounds began last week for the last spots that teams of lesser known leagues will vie for.
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We’ve already had a small preview of what’s to come in the Champions League when last year’s winner’s Chelsea took on last season’s UEFA Europa League winner, Villarreal. The UEFA Super Cup, as it’s called, went the distance with Chelsea winning on extended penalty kicks in the end.
Last Year’s Winner: Chelsea F.C.
Last Year’s UEFA Europa League Winner: Villarreal
Champions League Schedule
The Champions League schedule is played in two stages – the Group Stage and the Knockout Stage. In the group stage, the 32 qualifying teams are divided into eight groups via a lottery ball style draw. Each team plays the other members of their group twice – once in their home stadium and again in the opponent’s city.
Key Dates:
- August 26: Groups Stage Draw (Live on Paramount+)
- September 14-15: Match “Day” 1
- September 14 – December 8: Group Stage
- February 13 – March 16, 2022: Round of 16 played (two matches home and away)
- March 18, 2022: Quarterfinal and Semifinal draw
- April 5-13, 2022: Quarterfinal matches (home and away)
- April 25 – May 4, 2002: Semifinal matches (home and away)
- May 28, 2022: Champions League Final in Saint Petersburg, Russia
How to watch the Champions League
All champions league matches and draws are available on Paramount+. The service includes The Goalaso Show that features every goal during Champions League matchday play.
Premier League 2021
Arguably the most-watched soccer league, fans and non-fans alike know the names of some of the biggest teams of the English Premier League. Names like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are as common of household names as teams like the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys.
The top tier of the English Football Association, the Premier League begins play Friday afternoon when Arsenal meets newly-promoted Brentford. Each of the 20 Premier League clubs will play this weekend with seven more matches Saturday and two on Sunday morning.
Last year’s winner: Manchester City
Newly promoted teams: Brentford, Norwich City, Watford
How to Watch or Stream Premier League Soccer
NBC Universal broadcasts all regular season Premier League matches, dividing them up between the NBC Sports Network and their year-old streaming service Peacock. Some matches will also be available on the USA Cable network.
The NBC Universal networks carrying Premier League matches are also available on FuboTV in the U.S. Sign up for FuboTV here or Peacock using this link. Both streaming services offer free trials.
Serie A – Italy’s Top Tier
The top flight of the Italian football league system, the Serie A, kicks off play on August 21. Inter Milan, last year’s champions, open the Serie A season at home to Genoa. Inter Milan will be without their top star, Romalu Lukaku, who recently left the club to join Chelsea F.C. in the Premier League.
The Italian Serie A is home to soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo, who plays for perennial powerhouse Juventus. They will travel east to take on Udinese on August 22.
Last year’s winner: Inter Milan
Newly promoted teams: Empoli, Salernitana, Venezia
How to watch Serie A Soccer Live Streams
Paramount+ is the streaming home for all Serie A soccer matches. Plans start at $4.99/month and you can get a free week trial.
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia – or Italy Cup – is an annual tournament in Italian soccer bringing together teams from the top three soccer divisions across Italy. Four teams from the third-division Serie C join the 40 combined clubs from both the Serie B and Serie A leagues in a knock-out tournament. Each stage of the tournament is contested by one match, except for the semi-finals which are two-match home-and-away style play.
The First Round of Coppa Italia 2021-21 kicks off August 13. With last year’s winner, Juventus, joining play during the Round of 16 in January 2022.
Last year’s winner: Juventus
How to stream Coppa Italia
Each round of the Coppa Italia is streamed live on Paramount+. You can sign up for a one-week trial for free.
LaLiga Spanish Soccer
The Spanish LaLiga schedule also kicks off August 14. Perennial favorite Barcelona will be without the services of Lionel Messi for the first time since 2003. Despite agreeing to a new contract, Barcelona was unable to sign Messi because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration.
Last year’s winner: Atletico Madrid
Newly promoted teams: RCDEspanyol, Real Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano
How to watch or Stream LaLiga
ESPN+ is home to the Spanish LaLiga. You can stream both live matches and replays on the service. Sign up for ESPN+ or the entire Disney Bundle here.
Scottish Professional Football League
The Scottish Premiership schedule started August 7. The league includes such clubs as Celtic FC and Rangers – known collectively as “The Old Firm.” The top two finishers in the Scottish Premiership gain entry into the UEFA Champions League, though in different rounds. Third-place finishers and the winner of the Scottish Cup can also gain entry into the either the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Conference League.
Three Americans currently play in the Scottish Professional Football League: Christian Ramierez (Aberdeen), Ian Harkes (Dundee United), Dillon Powers (Dundee United) and Chris Mueller (Hibernian) will join in January after completing his MLS season with Orlando City.
Last year’s winners:
- Rangers (cinch Premiership)
- Hearts (cinch Championship)
How to watch Scottish Premiership Soccer
The top two levels of Scottish soccer – the cinch Premiership and cinch Championship – are broadcast on Paramount+.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifying
Qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is already underway. The United States Men’s National Team is still in the running with more qualifying matches to come. The third round of the CONCACAF qualifiers will begin Thursday, Sept. 2 and end on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. CONCACAF is the FIFA federation that includes North America, Central America and the Caribbean areas.
How to watch FIFA World Cup 2022 – CONCACAF
Paramount+ will carry six away matches for both the United States and Mexico men’s national teams as well as the media rights to all other matches played in the region. Start times and some dates have yet to be announced. Our partners at CBS Sports have a tentative CONCACAF qualifying schedule.
