- A dramatic day at Wembley Stadium as F2 FC lifted their first ever EE Wembley Cup, beating Rebel FC 1-0 in The EE Wembley Cup Final 2018
- Stars of YouTube’s most talked about teams, including Spencer FC and the F2 Freestylers, joined international football legends to play in the fourth annual EE Wembley Cup Final at Wembley Stadium connected by EE
- The whole match was live streamed on Hashtag United captain, Spencer FC’s, YouTube channel to over 230,000 viewers – becoming the world’s first live sporting event to be broadcast over 5G using remote production
- The final episode of the online series featuring highlights from the final will be broadcast on Spencer FC’s YouTube channel and ee.co.uk/Wembleycup this December
26th November 2018, London: Stars of YouTube’s most talked about teams, including Spencer FC and the F2 Freestylers, played alongside international football legends Robert Pirès, David Trezeguet, Cafu and Michael Essien, in Sunday’s electrifying fourth annual EE Wembley Cup Final.
The first semi-final saw a shock upset, with an early exit for favourites and three-time winners, Hashtag United, losing 1-0 to the impressive Rebel FC. The succeeding semi-final, part of a new tournament format, saw a 0-0 result at the end of the thirty-minute whistle, triggering Man Down Time – a dramatic race against the clock, where a player is removed from each team, every minute and the first team to score wins!
The game reached new heights of excitement as each team lost three players during Man Down Time, with XO also losing a further player to the Sin Bin. With only 13 players left on the Wembley pitch, F2 FC’s Bradley Simmonds slid through the XO defence and scored the crucial goal, booking his side a place in The EE Wembley Cup 2018 Final.
Tensions ran high at times in a competitive final match, with both sides chasing their first experience of EE Wembley Cup glory. However, it was World Cup winner David Trezeguet who rolled back the years to score the winning looping volley, as F2 FC took home the trophy with a 1-0 win. Rebel FC’s star striker, Jesse Waller-Lassen, picked up the Man of the match award for his impressive performances across both matches.
The FA-recognised EE Wembley Cup Final 2018 today became the world’s first live sporting event to be broadcast over 5G using remote production. The entire match was broadcast live via Spencer FC’s YouTube channel, with over 230,000 viewers tuning in live (with total views for the final attracting over one million). The broadcast was carried over 5G in Wembley Stadium, connected by EE and produced remotely by the BT Sport production crew at BT Sport’s base in Stratford, East London.
Designed for the devoted YouTube generation, the unique EE Wembley Cup tournament featuring Spencer Owen (Hashtag United), F2 Freestylers (F2 FC), Calfreezy (Rebel FC) and WillNE and Stephen Tries (XO), culminates in a series finale, airing later this year on Spencer FC’s YouTube channel and the EE website on ee.co.uk/Wembleycup.
For this series, EE introduced new rules, including a fast and furious 30-minute match format, Man Down Time and Sin Bins, turning the traditional footballing tournament on its head. The live semi-final, which saw XO and F2 FC go head to head, was the first game in The EE Wembley Cup Final history to see Man Down time brought into play.
Former Premier League official, Dermot Gallagher, who refereed The EE Wembley Cup Final 2018, ran a staggering 10km on the day, recording an average heart rate of 82 beats per minute. The stats were captured using the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G – the first Android compatible 4G enabled smartwatch available in the UK, which is available exclusively on the EE network. With the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G, customers can send and receive messages, make calls, stream their music and track their fitness routine when out and about, allowing them to leave their smartphone at home.
Pete Jeavons, Director of Brand Marketing at EE: “Today, we’ve redefined the football experience at the home of football, Wembley Stadium connected by EE. With a new tournament format, new rules and the biggest line up yet, we saw four of the UK’s most exciting YouTube football teams play for the ultimate bragging rights, watching a deserving F2 FC take home the cup. The final was the world’s first live sporting event to be broadcast over 5G, part of our ongoing commitment to innovation for our customers and another major milestone in our ambitious programme to make Wembley the world’s most connected stadium.”
EE is the lead partner of Wembley Stadium. Since the partnership kicked off in 2014, EE has introduced several technological advancements to the stadium, including delivering significant network upgrades preceding the latest 5G implementation, ensuring fans can stay connected during events. EE also worked with the Wembley team to deliver the first official Wembley app.
EE will be continuing the rollout of 5G in Wembley Stadium throughout 2019. EE recently launched 5G trials in London and announced plans to rollout 5G to 16 cities across the UK in 2019.
The event is not-for-profit, with £2 from every ticket sold being donated to Sport Relief, who bring together the entire nation to get active, raise cash and change lives. Their work helps people both here in the UK and the some of the world’s poorest communities.
Source: EE Newsroom
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