File photo - Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (Reuters/Henry Browne). (HENRY BROWNE)
Facebook Live will stream its first English soccer game Wednesday when the social network shows the charity soccer match between Premier League teams Manchester United and Everton.
The friendly match is a testimonial game honoring Manchester United star Wayne Rooney, who started his career with Everton. Rooney, who also stars for the England National team, has won a host of trophies including five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League during his 12 years at Manchester United.
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Manchester United and Everton kick off at 3 p.m. EDT – the game will be streamed on Rooney and Manchester United’s official Facebook pages. Proceeds from the game will go to charities selected by Rooney: the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, the Claire House children’s hospice, the U.K.’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and the Manchester United Foundation.
However, the match at Manchester United’s famous Old Trafford stadium is not the first to be streamed live on Facebook. The U.S. National Women’s Soccer League became the first to stream a match live on the social network earlier this year. The game between Orlando Pride and Houston Dash was broadcast via the Facebook account of U.S. national team star and Orlando Pride player Alex Morgan.
The broadcast of the game’s first half has racked up 296,000 views on Facebook, with the second half garnering 386,000 views.
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