With thousands of football fans in New Zealand, it’s easy to see why so many people in this country are interested in watching FIFA World Cup 2024 live. Despite being moved to the winter season, football fans are still fiercely interested in this event.
In Qatar, teams from 32 countries will clash and battle for the title of the winner across 64 blood-pumping matches that mark the pinnacle of the excitement for most fans. But if you live in this country, how can you watch the World Cup 2024 live stream in New Zealand?
Besides, paid options in this country are quite expensive, rendering the World Cup live stream unavailable for many people. Thankfully, I found a pretty good solution to this problem that will let you access this live stream in New Zealand and watch it on a few FREE channels.
Although, I just want to mention that this solution should be used at your own discretion and responsibility. The channels that I’ll show you are foreign TV channels, so unblocking them in New Zealand goes against their terms and conditions, although doing so isn’t illegal.
Football World Cup Live Stream in New Zealand: Paid & Free Channels
New Zealand residents are quite lucky to have some of the best channels for streaming sports events. However, in 2024, the only channel that streams FIFA World Cup online in New Zealand is Sky Go, and even if you aren’t from this country, I doubt you haven’t heard about it.
How Much Does Sky Go Cost in New Zealand?
Sky Go will cover the entire event from start to finish, so people who subscribe to it can enjoy every match from November 20th to December 18th, 2024. In this country, the subscription that lets you watch this event will cost you at least 40 NZD a month.
If we convert that to American Dollars, it ends up being 23.54 USD, which, I think is a bit expensive for an average resident of NZ. Now, if you don’t have a subscription to this channel, I recommend reading further, as I’ll show you some free channels to stream World Cup 2024 live in New Zealand.
Free Channels for World Cup Streaming in NZ
As stated, the channels that I want to talk about are not based in this country. I’m talking about TV channels in the United Kingdom that include BBC iPlayer and ITV. Both of these channels are completely free and require no cable TV subscription or license.
The only thing you need to do is make a free account after which, you’ll be able to access the content of these channels freely. Another option is to try a channel called SBS, which is based in your neighboring country – Australia.
This channel is free as well, and much like BBC iPlayer, ITV, or even Sky Go, it offers English commentary on all events, which is convenient if you don’t speak any foreign language. Given the locations of these channels, they won’t be available for you in New Zealand.
Thus, when trying to watch BBC iPlayer, for example, you will get an error message that looks like this:
And if you try to watch ITV live abroad (in this country), you will see something similar:
This implies that you must be located in the UK to access these channels. Conversely, to watch SBS, you’ll need to be located in Australia, which is implied by the geo-restriction message that you’ll get when trying to watch SBS on Demand:
In that case, how can you bypass these geo-restrictions and watch FIFA World Cup 2024 live stream for free in New Zealand?
How to Watch World Cup 2024 Live in New Zealand?
This brings us to the solution to this problem. The solution lies in unblocking these TV channels by changing your online location. To change your online location, you’ll have to change your IP address to another country, which, in this case, needs to be either the UK or Australia.
Changing your IP can be done by using a Virtual Private Network, also known as a VPN. A service like this will let you connect to a VPN server in a foreign country, assign you a new IP from that country, and let you unblock blocked content on SBS, BBC iPlayer, ITV, or any other platform.
Besides, a VPN can be used to unblock Netflix libraries as well, so it’s a universal tool for streaming. Everything I said applies only to top VPNs on the market since free providers aren’t known for great speeds and streaming capabilities.
One provider I often recommend for watching the football World Cup online in New Zealand is ExpressVPN. This provider has 3,000 servers in 160 locations globally, with hundreds of servers in Australia, the UK, and even New Zealand if you need to access local TV channels abroad.
Now that you have my recommendation, let’s see how to use this great provider to stream this event in your country.
1. Obtain ExpressVPN’s Subscription
ExpressVPN is not a free provider and this means you have to subscribe to it. However, before you disapprove, let me show you ExpressVPN’s pricing, just so you can see that it’s way cheaper than Sky Go:
The plan in the middle is the annual plan with 3 free months and a BIG 49% discount that drops the price to $6.67 a month. Compared to Sky Go where you’ll need to pay almost $24/mo, ExpressVPN is basically ~3.5 times cheaper.
Watch FIFA World Cup Live in NZ With ExpressVPN
Not to mention that it has a 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans as well, so you can get a refund at any moment during the first 30 days. To subscribe, just click on the red button, select the plan, and make a payment – it takes less than a minute.
2. Get ExpressVPN’s App
The main appeal of ExpressVPN is that it works on all platforms and systems. It’s also the fastest VPN that won’t slow down your internet speed, letting you stream World Cup online in New Zealand without any limits – not even bandwidth limits!
Therefore, you’ll just need to download an app for your device. If you’re on Windows, you’ll download a setup file from its site, install it, and open it up. After signing in with your credentials, ExpressVPN’s dashboard will appear:
You’ll find the same dashboard on macOS, iOS, and Android, making the entire process identical on all of these platforms.
In the image above, you see ExpressVPN’s iOS/Android app which looks and functions the same.
3. Establish a Connection to a Server in Australia/UK
To watch the World Cup 2024 live in New Zealand using a free channel like SBS, ITV, or BBC, you’ll need to get an IP address from the channel’s respective country. For this tutorial, I’ll show you how to do that on ITV and BBC, as for SBS, the process is the same.
- Open the server list by clicking on the three horizontal dots.
- Choose All Locations.
- Click on Europe.
- Double-click on the United Kingdom (for BBC and ITV).
Once ExpressVPN turns green, it’s an indication that your new IP address is in place. Move on to the final step.
4. Start Streaming FIFA World Cup Live on November 18th!
At the time of writing this article, the World Cup live stream hasn’t started yet, thus, I’m just showing you that I successfully unblocked the channels I mentioned.
However, on November 20th, you’ll be able to watch the first match of the World Cup. This match is between Qatar and Ecuarod and it starts at 4 pm GMT.
The screenshots above clearly indicate that my solution is working and it’ll be the same with streaming World Cup 2024 live in New Zealand once it starts.
Why Use ExpressVPN?
As stated earlier, ExpressVPN isn’t a free provider, which can make some users reluctant to test it out. However, comparing its prices to Sky Go or even US TV channels like Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV, you will see that ExpressVPN is up to 10 times cheaper.
The thing with it is that it offers a boatload of benefits, starting with extremely good streaming capabilities that let you access pretty much any geo-restricted platform and service. For example, you can count on ExpressVPN to watch a live stream of the Rugby World Cup or to watch the F1 season on a free TV channel.
In addition, it offers unlimited bandwidth and the fastest speeds, granting exceptional performance.
After all, ExpressVPN is a P2P-friendly provider, so you can use it to download torrents safely. And if you’re after something else, know that it’s perfectly usable for browsing the dark web through Tor anonymously and saving money on online purchases by changing your IP.
Try Out ExpressVPN Risk-Free Now
The provider offers native apps for all platforms, even including Smart TV, Fire TV Stick, and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Each of the 3,000 servers is optimized for speed and security, which is further backed by its Lightway VPN protocol which brings serious improvements.
Features like a kill switch and IP leak protection are here, and with a no-logging policy, you can be sure your browsing activities are anonymous. The provider has 5 simultaneous connections on a single account, with 24/7 customer support that’s by far the best in the business.
If you need a VPN that has no specific downsides and offers many other benefits aside from streaming World Cup online in New Zealand, this is my #1 recommendation. Don’t forget about its 49% discount and 3 free months for the annual plan which makes it far more affordable.
Summary
With a VPN like ExpressVPN and the 3 free channels I presented, it’s fair to say that you can easily watch FIFA World Cup 2024 live in New Zealand. If you don’t have a Sky Go subscription, I don’t recommend spending that much money for this purpose.
Instead, opt for free channels like BBC, SBS, and ITV, which will allow you to enjoy high-quality footage of all matches of the World Cup. Starting on November 20th, this will be one of the most anticipated football events that you surely won’t want to miss.
And thanks to the trick I showed you, I’m sure you’ll spend the majority of this year’s last months in front of your monitor or TV. Get a break from your job and enjoy streaming your favorite football competition – you deserve it!
FAQ
Can I watch FIFA World Cup 2024 live stream in NZ for free?
You can watch it for free on free channels like BBC, ITV, and SBS. However, you’ll have to get a VPN subscription which isn’t free, although it’s way cheaper than Sky Go you can watch in New Zealand.
The trick is that the World Cup lasts less than a month and ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means that you can get it on November 20th, enjoy the entire competition, and get a refund on December 18th after the final match.
In other words, you will end up spending nothing, as you’ll get reimbursed and not lose a single dollar.
Why is this world cup held in November?
Because of the weather conditions during summer in Qatar. Namely, the temperatures during summer can reach blazing-hot 41 degrees Celsius, which is too hot and unpleasant for those coming from American, Asian, and European Countries.
When is the final match of the World Cup 2024?
The final match of the World Cup will be played on December 18th at 3 pm (GMT). You can watch this match on ITV, SBS, and BBC as well by using the trick I explained in the article.
