Facebook To Broadcast FA Cup

North Americans now have another medium through which they can ignore European soccer.

The FA Cup, the oldest soccer (sorry, “football”) tournament in the world, will be the first sporting event to be broadcast live on Facebook, with a preliminary round between two low-tier English clubs kicking things off. Ascot United and Wembley will face off against each other on Friday, with their match set to be aired to any of Facebook's 700 million or so users who want to tune in to the equivalent of an American Hockey League tune-up (are you listening, Gary Bettaman?). The FA Cup, now in its 140th year of existence, pitches teams from all levels of professional “football” in England and Wales against one another, which can lead to small-town clubs taking on – and occasionally beating – such world-renowned teams as Manchester United and Arsenal.