The Champions League and Europa League tournaments are kicking off and here’s how fans down under can catch the major events.
We’ve reached that point in the footballing season — how good.
With the first international break now behind us and Europe’s major leagues in full swing, here’s where things start to get tricky, tense and stressful for the clubs good enough to qualify for the continent’s biggest annual club tournaments.
The schedule starts to thicken right up for some of Europe’s best club outfits. Brighton, for example, are embarking on their very first EL campaign and play three tough games in a nine day period — hence why the club left no stone unturned to add depth to its squad over the summer and made six changes to the starting XI that beat Manchester United in FPL Gameweek 5. So far so good, but Roberto De Zerbi’s outfit is entering uncharted waters.
And the Seagulls are not alone.
Manchester City have started the Premier League season unbeaten, but enter a run of five games in 14 days — UCL and EFL Cup encounters, along with regular Premier League programming. City, of course, will look to defend their maiden Champions League crown — the juggernaut club beat Inter Milan in the Final last season.
So for those figuring which football is streaming where, here’s what you’re looking for.
How to watch the 2023-24 Champions League
In Australia, streaming platform Stan Sport has broadcasting rights, like last season.
Unlike other inferior streaming platforms (we won’t name names), you can pause and rewind live games on Stan Sport; functionality means that if you decide to watch the action on delay the next morning, you don’t have to wait for the full event to finish and then re-uploaded. It sounds simple, but it’s not universal across sport streaming platforms, unbelievably.
Stan Sport is Stan’s add-on package, costing an additional $15 a month. The platform also has all the major rugby (including the Rugby World Cup), tennis and various other events.
UCL group stage draw
GROUP A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray
GROUP B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV, Lens
GROUP C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
GROUP D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Salzburg, Real Sociedad
GROUP E: Feyenoord, Atlético de Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
GROUP F: PSG, Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle United
GROUP G: Manchester City, Leipzig, Crvena zvezda, Young Boys
GROUP H: Barcelona, FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Antwerp
How to watch the 2023-24 Europa League
Quite like the Champions League, every EL game – and also the Europa Conference League matches – are also available on Stan Sport down under.
Europa League draw
GROUP A: West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg, TSC Bačka Topola
GROUP B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens
GROUP C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Praha, Aris Limassol
GROUP D: Atalanta, Sporting CP, Sturm Graz, Raków Częstochowa
GROUP E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG, Toulouse
GROUP F: Villarreal, Rennes, Maccabi Haifa, Panathinaikos
GROUP G: Roma, Slavia Praha, Sheriff, Servette
GROUP H: Leverkusen, Qarabağ, Molde, Häcken
Champions League games
The first of six group stage Matchdays is September 19-20, with the Round of 16 then kicking off in mid-February.
Find UEFA’s full rundown of games here.
Europa League games
The first of six Matchdays start September 21, with all the group stage action wrapping up on December 14. Then it’s onto the knockout stage in mid-February. All the dates can be found here.
Champions League final details
Wembley Stadium, London, 2024
Date: Saturday, June 1
It’ll be a record eighth time that Wembley has hosted the UCL Final — the last time was back in 2013.
Europa League final details
Dublin Arena, Ireland, 2024
While the date is still yet to be determined, the deciding fixture is happening over in Dublin, Ireland this season. It’ll be the second time this venue will determine who claims one of Europe’s top prizes.
