The EFL has revealed its broadcast plans during the World Cup, with League One and League Two going ahead while the tournament plays as well as some Championship matches.All matches played will be shown on Sky Sports or through club streaming platforms and iFollow. Full League One and Two programmes will take place on the 18-19 November and 2-4 December, with other games taking place throughout the month of international football. 18 Championship matches will be streamed at the discretion of the home club.The increased availability comes due to the Saturday afternoon closed window (Article 48) not applying during the tournament. EFL chief commercial officer Ben Wright spoke to Broadcast Sport last month about the organisations willingness to bring an end to the 3pm blackout, following its rights tender specifying that all 1,891 matches are up for grabs for broadcasters from the 2024/25 season.Sky Sports is airing 10 EFL matches during the World Cup, and, in addition to the 121 league matches taking place, all Papa Johns Trophy matches on Tuesday 22 November will be streamed on iFollow or Clubs’ streaming services.EFL Chief Executive Trevor Birch said: “With EFL fixtures continuing throughout the World Cup, we have a fantastic opportunity to showcase our competition, with supporters able to enjoy more access to watch their Club play, whether at the ground, in the pub or at home."While the winter World Cup has brought challenges for domestic leagues, for the EFL it also brings this opportunity to test how the streaming of live matches during traditionally blocked hours is received by fans that wish to watch their team, wherever they may be.”
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