It’s finally that time of the year. The UEFA European Football Championship 2024 is set to kick off on June 14 and see a month of football hit our screens.
While all the matches are free to watch everywhere in Europe, each country will broadcast its own version on its national channels. This means you’ll need to find a way around it if you’re abroad but don’t want to lose your favorite live commentary.
The good news is that it’s not an impossible task if you are equipped with one of the best VPN services on the market. A VPN, short for virtual private network, is software that encrypts internet connections and spoofs your IP address. The latter skill is exactly what you need to trick your ISP into thinking you’re in a different country and grant you access to local TV as if you’re home. Keep reading as I explain everything you need to know to get you started.
Today’s best Euro 2024 VPN
Where can you watch Euros 2024 matches on local TV
UEFA put together a list with all the TV broadcast partners and live stream across the world to help you navigate the schedule—you can look at the list in full here.
You can find more info on our dedicated page on how to watch Euro 2024 from anywhere, but below are some of the channels you’ll need to watch the biggest teams entering this year’s competition:
- England: BBC One and ITV1 are splitting all the matches throughout the tournament. You’ll need to create an account of both BBC iPlayer and ITVX to stream them from abroad with a VPN. Check our dedicated page on how to do so here.
- France: TF1 is airing all Euro 2024 matches for free, which you can access from different platforms.
- Italy: Rai Sport will offer free Euro broadcast all month. You can stream it on-demand from your phone, laptop, or smart TV via the RaiPlay platform at no cost.
- Spain: RTVE is the place to go and watch all Euro’s matches for free in Spanish.
- Germany: A wider choice here as Das Erste, ZDF & RTL all air Euro 2024 for free.
How to unblock national channels from abroad
The VPN magic lies in spoofing your real IP address to make you appear in a completely different country with a click. This ultimately will grant access to your chosen local streaming player. For doing so, the software reroutes your IP through one of its many international servers.
I know, all of this sounds like a really techy and complicated task. You don’t need to worry, though, as most VPN providers—all the top ones, for that matter—have user-friendly interfaces that will make the process a piece of cake. Below are some simple steps to follow to get started:
- Sign up for a VPN. As mentioned, NordVPN is the best streaming VPN on the market right now—it never failed me last time I tried unblocking the most popular streaming platforms. If you are on a tight budget, though, I suggest checking some of the best cheap VPN services like Surfshark, Hide.me, or Private Internet Access (PIA).
- Download your VPN. Downloading and installing your VPN is as easy as doing so with any other app. All you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions.
- Connect to your chosen server. Again, that’s super easy. All you need to do is open your VPN’s server list to find a server in the country of your choice— for example you’d click on an Italian one if you want to stream via RaiPlay, or one in the UK if you like the BBC’s commentary, and so on—click to connect, and you’re almost ready to go.
- Log in to the streaming player. Again, depending on the live commentary you want to unblock, you need to head to the right streaming platform and create an account if you don’t have one already.
- All set. Sit back, and enjoy the match as though you were in that country. You now just need to remember to stay on top of the Euro 2024 schedule so you don’t miss any matches.
Can I install a VPN on different devices?
You can install and use the top VPN apps across all the most popular devices. This means you’ll have many ways to stream Euro 2024 matches with your favorite live commentary.
Again, downloading and installing a VPN on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC is the same as doing so with any other new app. If you get lost, though, head to our dedicated tutorial on how to set up a VPN.
Things get a little bit more complicated with streaming devices, gaming consoles, and smart TVs. That’s because not all of these devices come with native VPN support. So, you may need to do a little bit of a workaround.
Let’s look at some examples. Amazon Fire Sticks come with dedicated VPN apps, but similar services like Roku do not—if you’re in need here’s a guide to set up your VPN on Roku. Historically also Apple TV fell into the latter category. However, the big tech giant finally introduced support for third-party VPN applications with the tvOS 17 update. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, PIA, and IPVanish all have a dedicated Apple TV VPN apps right now.
The same goes when it comes to smart TVs. Android TVs allow you to download your VPN app via Google Play Store as you would do on your phone, while other models lack this option. If you’re using the latter type of smart TV or a gaming console, I recommend installing your VPN on a router as this is by far the easiest solution.
Can I use a free VPN up for streaming Euro 2024?
The short answer is no, you ideally need a premium service to stream Euro 2024 matches with your favorite live commentary from anywhere in the world.
That’s because no matter how good a free VPN is, freebies are mostly hopeless when it comes to streaming. Take ProtonVPN, for instance. While the provider is great at unblocking content, this is a functionality reserved for paid subscribers only. Likewise, free VPN apps generally have a very limited server network. So, even if it manages to unlock streaming platforms, the country you need may simply not be in its server list.
It’s worth noting that PrivadoVPN free is one of the few free VPNs that can unlock streaming platforms such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer. However, the free plan comes with a data cap of 10 GB at full speed and after that, it lowers down to just 1 Mbps for a single location. That surely isn’t enough to stream all the tournament.
Something you can do, though, is take advantage VPN-free trials. Rather than be totally free, these usually come in the form of a 30-day money-back guarantee. Despite requiring you to invest the money upfront, It’s still handy as you’ll be able to claim back your money before the time is up and use the VPN for free for a whole month.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).
2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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chiara.castro@futurenet.com (Chiara Castro)
