Soccer may not be the biggest sport in America (yet), but it dominates the world. And while you might not find it channel surfing on cable TV, streaming services offer many ways to watch soccer without cable.
However, trying to make sense of all the soccer leagues spread across all the streaming services can be overwhelming. So here’s how to watch the most popular soccer leagues for the best price.
In a hurry? Here are 3 streamers to watch soccer without cable
fuboTV
With fuboTV you can watch a wide range of leagues and tournaments, including Premier League and Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Copa América and more.
Apple TV+
Starting February 1, 2023, you can watch every MLS match without blackouts, the Leagues Cup, and more with Apple’s MLS Season Pass. You can get it on as a standalone service, but it’s cheaper with an Apple TV+ subscription.
Peacock
At one of the lowest prices around, Peacock is hands-down the best choice if you only want to watch Premier League.
Watching from outside the US or want to bypass local blackouts? Here are our top VPN picks to watch geo-blocked content.
Our top pick for watching soccer without cable: fuboTV
Named after fútbol (Spanish for football), it’s no surprise that fuboTV is the best way to watch what’s called soccer on this side of the pond. If you’re looking for a single subscription to watch a wide range of leagues, fuboTV offers the most soccer coverage. It also allows multiple streams and comes with ample cloud DVR space.
Why fuboTV?
fuboTV has the world’s most popular soccer league – Premier League – plus MLS, World Cup, UCL and more. Priced the same as Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream, it has much more soccer content, plus beIN Sports – which the others don’t. fuboTV includes 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage – enough to record about 500 Premier League games.
fuboTV’s top 3 features
League coverage: fuboTV covers more leagues and competitions than any other streamer.
With fuboTV you can watch:
Premier League
MLS
UEFA Champions League
Liga MX
Serie A
Ligue 1
Coppa Italia
Süper Lig
FIFA World Cup
Canadian World Cup Qualifiers
And more
Simultaneous streams: fuboTV lets you stream 10 devices at home, plus 3 mobile devices on the go. Read our in-depth look at fuboTV simultaneous streams for more.
Best sports add-on for soccer: The International Sports Plus add-on for $6.99/month has 8 channels, 5 of which are dedicated to soccer:
FOX Soccer Plus
GolTV English
GolTV Spanish
TyC Sports
Zona Futbol
Read our in-depth review of fuboTV.
When is soccer season?
With so many professionals leagues and competitions, soccer season never ends. But here are some key dates for specific leagues.
When is the English Premier League season?
Premier League soccer runs from early August until late May, with each team playing 38 matches.
Key upcoming dates:
December 26: Season resumes after World Cup break
January 7 & 28: Weekends off for FA Cup
May 28: Last day, all teams play at 4 p.m.
When is the MLS season?
Major League Soccer begins in late February and concludes with the playoffs in early November. Each team plays 34 games in the regular season.
Key upcoming dates:
February 25: 2023 regular season begins
July 21-August 19: Season paused for the Leagues Cup
TBA: 2023 MLS Cup
When is the LaLiga season?
Home to world-renowned clubs like Barça and Real Madrid, LaLiga season runs from August to June, with each team playing 38 matches.
Key upcoming dates:
December 30-January 2: LaLiga Matchday 15
March 18-19: El Clásico
June 2-4: LaLiga Santander Final Weekend
When is the UEFA Champions League season?
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) annual competition goes through 4 phases, running year-round from late June to early June.
Key upcoming dates:
February 14-22: Round of 16 (1st leg)
March 7-15: Round of 16 (2nd leg)
April 11-19: Quarter-finals
May 9-17: Semi-finals
June 10: Final
When are other soccer league seasons?
With so many professional soccer leagues around the world, we can’t list them all. But some of the most-watched are:
Chinese Super League: June - December
Bundesliga: August - May
Ligue 1: August - June
Liga MX (Apertura): July - December
Liga MX (Clausura): January - May
NWSL: April - October
Apple is launching an MLS Season Pass in 2023
Some of biggest broadcasting news in soccer is Apple’s MLS Season Pass, which kicks off a 10-year partnership between Apple and Major League Soccer.
The service will be in 100+ countries and stream live every regular season and playoff match plus the Leagues Cup – without blackouts. It will also have MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches live, and exclusive shows with replays, highlights and analysis.
To kick off the new service, every opening weekend match will be free to watch on the Apple TV app.
It becomes available February 1 on Apple TV for $14.99/month or $99/season. Apple TV+ subscribers can get it for $12.99/month or $79/season.
Other options for watching soccer without cable
If you’re only interested in 1 or 2 leagues, there are more affordable ways to stream soccer than a comprehensive service like fuboTV. Here are some league-specific options and some other cable-replacement alternatives.
Watch Premier League on Peacock
If you’re looking for Premier League soccer, you can’t do better than Peacock. For one of the lowest-priced subscriptions around, you get every EPL game either live or on-demand the next day. You also get all 64 World Cup matches and every match in the Summer Olympics.
Peacock lets you watch:
Premier League
FIFA World Cup
Olympics
Read our in-depth review of Peacock.
Watch UEFA Champions League on Paramount+
With a 6-year contract extension, Paramount+ will be the streaming home of UEFA Champions League soccer until the end of 2030. You also get select live games from a few other leagues – all for the same low price as Peacock.
Paramount+ lets you watch:
UEFA Champions League
Serie A
Concacaf
NWSL
Argentine Primera División
Campeonato Brasileirão Série A
Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL)
Check the website for all the soccer matches on Paramount+, then read our in-depth review of Paramount+.
Watch LaLiga, MLS and more on ESPN+
ESPN+ is another great deal and the exclusive US streamer for LaLiga. You get all 380 matches plus 350 out-of-market MLS matches and 300+ Bundesliga matches. (And with a VPN like NordVPN, you can bypass the MLS local blackouts.)
ESPN+ lets you watch:
MLS
LaLiga
Liga MX
Bundesliga
USL
Read our in-depth review of ESPN+.
Watch soccer on DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream is full cable replacement with soccer matches on FOX, NBC, USA Network and TNT, as well as ESPN and FS1. Upgrading to the Choice plan gets you college networks plus regional sports networks (RSNs) you can’t get anywhere else.
DirecTV Stream lets you watch:
Premier League
MLS
LaLiga
NCAA
Liga MX
Serie A
NWSL
FIFA World Cup
Read our in-depth review of DirecTV Stream.
Watch soccer on Vidgo
Sports-oriented streamer Vidgo has soccer on ABC, FOX and Univision, as well as ESPN, FS1 and their Spanish-language counterparts. It also has TUDN and beIN Sports, which both have plenty of soccer.
Vidgo lets you watch:
MLS
LaLiga
Liga MX
FIFA World Cup
Read our in-depth review of Vidgo for more.
Watch soccer on YouTube TV
Priced between Vidgo and fuboTV, YouTube TV is the second-best comprehensive option for watching soccer. It’s got CBS Sports Network, NBC Sports and USA Network, as well as ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2 and TUDN. The Sports Plus Add-on for $10.99/month gets you beIN Sports and FOX Soccer Plus.
YouTube TV lets you watch:
Premier League
MLS
LaLiga
Ligue 1
NWSL
NCAA
UEFA Champions League
NWSL
UEFA Europa League
UEFA Supercup
UEFA Europa Conference League
Read our in-depth review of YouTube TV for more.
What channels air live soccer games?
Where to watch Premier League live
TV: NBC, USA Network, Telemundo, Universo
Streaming: Peacock
Here’s how to watch every EPL soccer team without cable.
Where to watch MLS live
TV: FOX, Univision, UniMás
Pay TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, FS1
Streaming: Apple TV+, ESPN+
Here’s how to watch every MLS soccer team without cable.
Where to watch UEFA Champions League live
TV: CBS
Pay TV: CBS Sports Network
Streaming: Paramount+
Here’s how to watch every UCL soccer team without cable.
Where to watch LaLiga live
TV: ABC (select matches)
Pay TV: ESPN Deportes, ESPN (select matches)
Streaming: ESPN+ (all matches)
Here’s how to watch every LaLiga soccer team without cable.
Where to watch Bundesliga live
TV: ABC (select matches)
Pay TV: ESPN Deportes, ESPN, ESPN2 (select matches)
Streaming: ESPN+ (all matches)
Here’s how to watch every Bundesliga soccer team without cable.
Best devices for watching soccer without cable
Watch soccer with Fire TV
If you’re planning on skirting local blackouts, you’ll need a VPN. But some devices — like Apple TV and Roku — don’t let you install VPN apps. Other devices do, but may not be supported by the VPN.
However, most of the top VPNs, such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN, have an app for Fire TV, so we recommend watching soccer with a Fire TV Stick, Cube or smart TV from Amazon.
Use an over-the-air antenna
Using an over-the-air (OTA) antenna is a great way to cut costs and watch live sports. However, you won’t snag as many soccer games as you will baseball, football or hockey.
There are many to choose from, but we recommend the Tablo Quad, which comes with a built-in DVR.
How to bet on soccer
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to betting on the world’s most popular sport. But just make sure you know where sports betting is legal in the US.
How to watch soccer outside the United States
Watching sports is just one of the many uses for a VPN. For example, if you’re getting Premier League on Peacock or UCL on Paramount+, you won’t be able to watch them when traveling overseas.
Here’s all you need to know about using a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but here are more of the best VPNs to choose from.
Our Takeaway: Streaming football is much better than TV
Depending on which league(s) you follow, streaming soccer needn’t cost a lot. It just takes some planning.
If you mainly follow Premier League and UCL, you can watch every single match for under 10 bucks a month by getting Peacock and Paramount+. Adding every MLS match to that can be done with ESPN+ or the Apple MLS Season Pass, for another 10 to 15 dollars. That’s 3 major soccer leagues for under $25/month.
Whichever you choose, streaming is the best way to watch soccer.
Douglas Wright
Douglas Wright is a freelance writer based in Japan. A former web designer and technical writer, he left beautiful Vancouver for bustling Tokyo, where he spent a decade recruiting for software and high-tech firms. No longer commuting through the world’s busiest train station, he writes fiction and a wide range of formats for clients around the world. When he gets AFK, he’s either outdoors with his two boys, streaming a show with his wife, or reading a book over a French-pressed, hand-ground coffee.