Facebook to stream weekly games from La Liga and Serie A for free, including Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus debut

Eleven Sports, the new rightholders, have partnered with Facebook to broadcast free-to-air games in the UK

European football fans in the UK will be able to stream one game per week for free after the new rightsholder, Eleven Sports, reached a broadcast agreement with social network Facebook.

The partnership will see a weekly match picked for live streaming via Eleven Sports' UK Facebook page and their Serie A coverage will kick off with Cristiano Ronaldo's debut for Juventus on August 18th.

Spanish football starts a day earlier with Girona, part of the City Football Group, playing Valladolid on the Friday night. The second Spanish game of the opening weekend sees Marcelino's brilliant Valencia, returning to the Champions League this season after years in the abyss, hosting Atletico Madrid.

“By making Facebook our free-to-air partner, we are giving our leading content centre stage projection, opening it up to new and diverse audiences, and confirming again our innovative leadership in the global sports media industry,” said Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports.

“In all our global markets we want to be where the fans are. We aim to serve fan communities and develop interaction and engagement around our content, while ensuring we are always accessible and easy to reach. Our unique free-to-air partnership with Facebook helps us to do this as part of our fresh and contemporary approach to distribution.”

“We're excited to build on our strong relationship with Eleven Sports by becoming the free-to-air home in the UK and Ireland for a selection of its live broadcasts this season,” said Rhys Beer, Facebook Live Sports Programming Lead, EMEA.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to helping broadcasters reach new audiences, build their brands and deliver a great viewing experience for sports fans on Facebook.”

A season pass to watch Eleven Sports will set viewers back £49.99 if bought before August 31st, while customers hoping to pay monthly will need to set aside £5.99 per month.