The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off on Saturday, 6th June 2015 in Canada. Women’s football (or women’s soccer if you’re in the United States) has become huge in recent years and the interest in this years Women’s World Cup is massive.
Women’s football now has a large following and many around the world will want to tune in to watch the World Cup in Canada. In certain countries Women’s football is bigger than in others and because of this only a handful of countries will be showing the games live either on regular TV or online.
The UK will be showing every single match live on the BBC. In Canada only certain matches will be shown online unless you have a subscription to the main TV Channel and this is similar in other countries. This means for residents of the United Kingdom they can watch all the matches live online on BBC iPlayer. If you’re outside the UK you’ll be blocked by geo-restrictions so we’ve put together this little guide to show you how you can circumvent those restrictions and watch every match from any country in the world.
A typical blocked message from BBC iPlayer
How to watch the Women’s World Cup online
If you’re in the United Kingdom you’ll have no trouble watching on BBC iPlayer but if you’re outside the UK your options for watching the Women’s World Cup online are severely limited.
When you visit the iPlayer website it checks your internet connection to see what country you’re in and if you’re not in the home country then they block you. Luckily a service exists called a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN is a way of protecting your privacy online by re-routing your internet requests via a different location.
When you do this you essentially virtually reside in another country. Due to this BBC iPlayer will think you’re in the UK and so show you all the Women’s World Cup matches live.
Where do I get a VPN to watch online
VPNs are extremely easy to use and work across all devices such as Windows PC, Mac, Android and iOS for iPhone or iPad meaning you’ll be able to watch the matches on any device you want. VPN services are provided by a range of companies and cost between US$5–$10 per month (Approx £3.30 – £6.50) so for watching the Women’s World Cup you’re only going to need a 1 month service to be able to watch the whole tournament.
There are good providers who are fast and bad ones that are slow. For streaming live video you need a fast provider and our three recommended providers for this purpose are given below. We recommend IPVanish because they’re not only fast but reliable.
| Rank | Provider | Lowest Price | Review | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $6.49 per month | ||
| 2 |  | $8.32 per month | ||
| 3 |  | $6.67 per month |
How do I use the VPN
After you’ve signed up to one of the 3 providers recommended above download and install the software or app for the device you want to watch the Women’s World Cup on. BBC are showing every match so it’s best to use them, there are other TV channels such as CTV in Canada but they’re only showing select matches.
Once you’ve installed their software or app connect to a United Kingdom server and then visit BBC iPlayer. Most matches will be shown on BBC 2 or BBC 3 so check the “Channels” tab on iPlayer to find the match you’re after.
With their Windows software you can either go to Server Selection and then List and find a UK server or you can simply click UK Media or Gaming under the Server Selection option.
IPVanish Windows software
It really is that simple, you’ll now be able to watch every Women’s World Cup match live online from any country in the world.
World Cup 2015 Schedule
| Date | Time (UTC/GMT) | Team 1 | Team 2 | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 June 15 | 20:00 | Germany | Sweden | Round of 16 |
| 20 June 15 | 23;30 | China | Cameroon | Round of 16 |
| 21 June 15 | 17:00 | Brazil | Australia | Round of 16 |
| 21 June 15 | 20:00 | France | South Korea | Round of 16 |
| 21 June 15 | 23:30 | Canada | Switzerland | Round of 16 |
| 22 June 15 | 21:00 | Norway | England | Round of 16 |
| 23 June 15 | 00:00 | USA | Colombia | Round of 16 |
| 24 June 15 | 02:00 | Japan | Netherlands | Round of 16 |
| 26 June 15 | 20:00 | TBC | TBC | Quarter Finals |
| 26 June 15 | 23:30 | TBC | TBC | Quarter Finals |
| 27 June 15 | 20:00 | TBC | TBC | Quarter Finals |
| 27 June 15 | 23:00 | TBC | TBC | Quarter Finals |
| 30 June 15 | 23:00 | TBC | TBC | Semi Finals |
| 1 July 15 | 23:00 | TBC | TBC | Semi Finals |
| 4 July 15 | 23:00 | TBC | TBC | Third Place |
| 5 July 15 | 23:00 | TBC | TBC | Final |
About the Women’s World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup starts on June 6th and runs all the way through until 5th July 2015 with the culmination of the final.
The tournament is taking place in Canada. There are six host cities that will form the base for the matches that spans the entire width of Canada and includes Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton.
Women’s football has grown to a staggering size with this being only the 7th Women’s World Cup. The 2015 competition sees the amount of teams extended to 24 whereas previously it had been 16.
Surprisingly the female version of the game has become huge in the United States, a country not previously known for its love of football with reports that female “soccer” players in the US can now earn salaries of up to $1 million.
Japan are currently the World Cup title holders after beating the USA in the final of the 2011 Women’s World Cup. With both teams again in the tournament it will be an exciting month of female football!
Image courtesy of kibsri at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
