The Championship is pure eye candy for any soccer fan, and a bloodbath if you follow one of the clubs. It’s one of the toughest and the most competitive leagues in the world, with attendance higher than that of the French Ligue 1 and the Italian Serie A combined, and here is your guide on how to stream it from anywhere in the world.
Where to stream the EFL Championship online
If you’re looking for legal ways to stream the EFL Championship in the UK and abroad, there are plenty of ways to get your fill.
In the UK
Sky Sports provides exclusive live coverage of the EFL Championship and EFL Cup, which amounts to a total of 148 matches each season. It also means you can get your Championship fix via NOW TV without lock-in contracts.
Channel 5 airs the highlights each Saturday and occasionally during the week.
In the U.S.
ESPN 3 and BAMTech broadcast the Championship games starting this season. Cord-cutters can stream the Championship via Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and PS Vue in the US.
In Canada
Tune in beIN Sports Canada or Réseau des Sports for matches with French commentary.
In Australia
Foxtel Now, beIN Sports Connect and beIN Sports 2 are your go-to sources for a complete EFL Championship coverage.
Internationally
Betfair and Bet365 have broadcast license to stream the matches internationally, but their coverage varies by territory. In most cases, if some local channel airs a Championship game, the gambling providers are blacked out.
iFollow caters specifically to EFL fans outside the UK. You can get your complete EFL fix for ₤100, or pay per match. But there are multiple issues with the streamer. Its coverage has no commentary and only includes a single-camera view, which is far from perfect if you ask me. Moreover, not every club has agreed to be a part of the streaming service. So you can’t get comprehensive coverage of all the EFL games after all. Not helping is the fact that iFollow streams will be blacked out if some local broadcaster airs the game.
If you follow one of the teams with international streaming rights of their games, such as BluesTV, FulhamFCTV, or WolvesTV, you could make do with that, but it’s far from being a complete solution, either.
Overall, there is a broadcaster airing some or most of the Championship games in pretty much every corner of the world, including:
Why use a VPN to stream the EFL Championship
iFollow may be overpriced for what it offers with the single-camera view and lack of commentary, and it’s far from comprehensive. But it’s a viable solution if your club is on the bandwagon. However, iFollow is only available to fans outside the UK and Ireland, while its streams are blacked out if a local broadcaster streams or airs the games in your area.
If you are in the UK or Ireland, the only way you can use iFollow is with a VPN – connect to a server in one of the African countries, subscribe to iFollow, and stream. Note: the address you submit at registration must be in the country from which you connect via the VPN.
Similarly, if you are paying for a Sky Sports subscription in the UK, and are currently abroad, you can’t access your streams. Blame it on the licensing restrictions, but you can’t use your membership unless through a VPN. In this case, connect to a VPN server in the UK and stream as if you were in your home country.
The same is true for all Bet365 users – blackouts for the EFL Championship may be aggravatingly frequent if you are in a country where beIn Sports airs the matches. If so, check the list of countries streaming a particular game, find one with no coverage, connect to a VPN server in that location, and stream via Bet365.
Let’s not forget a VPN encrypts your traffic, providing you with no-nonsense protection on the Internet:
- Your Internet Service Provider can’t eavesdrop on you or throttle your bandwidth.
- Hackers can’t hijack your traffic or decipher your information.
- Sites can’t see your real location or identity.
- You can easily bypass your office firewall or avoid state surveillance.
- Region-restricted streaming sites, gaming servers, and shopping discounts get unlocked.
How to stream the EFL Championship with a VPN
- Subscribe to a VPN service and install its VPN client on your device.
- Launch your VPN and connect to a server in the country of your choice (outside the UK to stream with iFollow, in the UK to stream with Sky).
- Clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
- Go to your streaming portal and log in.
- You are all set to enjoy the Championship in full HD – from anywhere in the world.
Best VPNs to stream the EFL Championship from anywhere
Many free VPNs from the likes of Hola advertise sports streaming but be advised – you end up paying with your private data. Moreover, free VPNs’ streaming quality, speeds, and data allowance are far from what you’d call sufficient for streaming the Championship.
ExpressVPN
Our top pick!
- Always evades internet control in the PRC
- Keeps ahead of the Netflix VPN detection algorithm
- Benchmark tests show excellent speed
NordVPN
- More US city locations than its rivals
- Includes malware protection
- No-logs policy
IPVanish
- No limit on the number of devices you can connect at the same time
- SOCKS5 proxy, which its main rivals don’t have
- More VPN servers in more US cities to dodge blackouts