So You Want To See France Play, Eh? Maybe I Can Help

In the past month or so, I have actually spent far more time than is healthy figuring out how to see this game tomorrow.

Obsessive? Moi? Oh, please. It has all, every bit, been in service of you, dear reader.

Um…yeah.

But never mind. I have discovered several possibilities for you.

First, and cheapest, (like, free, but kind of totally illegal and not particularly reliable,) we have the footy pirates. I love the footy pirates, at least when they work for me. And they worked for me for France Greece in November, at least after I ritually sacrificed a soccer ball and smelly shinguards to the footy pirate gods. (Hey, there’s no accounting for taste.)

Recently, though, the footy pirates have not seen fit to smile on me. So I’ve been delving into other alternatives. Which leads up to Option Two: Television. The game will be shown live on Setanta Sports channel at 3:00 Eastern, then replayed at 7:00 and 11:00, and then again at 2:00 a.m. on the Thursday the 8th.

What’s that you say? Don’t have Setanta and don’t have the megabucks necessary to get it? Well, guess what. I may be able to help. Click on this link for a list of pubs across the country that offer Setanta. There’s a menu at the top of various areas on the US. (Although now that I’m looking at the pub lists, I’m seeing that Setanta is not available in a lot of places. Which sucks. But you can always come to Seattle, where it is offered.)

Can’t do that? Well, there’s one more option that may work. First, go to the French Football Federation website. In the middle right-hand column you’ll see “Vous vivez hors de France et vous voulez voir les Bleus jouer ? Suivez, en direct et en vidéo, la rencontre France-Argentine !” which is the link for people outside of France. Click where it says, “Acceder au service.” On the next screen at the top, you’ll see, “Pas encore inscrit,” (not yet registered.) Click on that. The next screen will be a diagnostic that will tell you if your computer has what it takes. We’ll assume yes, (green buttons, but it take ten or fifteen seconds) so click on “Continuer l’inscription” in the bottom right.

Now it asks for:

E-mail
Votre mot de passe: password
Confirmer votre mot de passe: retype password
Prenom: first name
Nom: Last name
Adresse: (guess)
Ville: city
Code postal: zip code
Pays: country. (They’re alphabetical, and we’re under E — Etats-Unis, not United States.

You don’t need a phone number. Click on “j’ai pris…” at the bottom — basically that you accept the terms. Once you register, they’ll send you a validation e-mail. Click on the link and you’re golden. Then you can sign up to watch the game by clicking on ” Tarifs” at the top. It looks like the cost is 4.99 Euros to watch during the game and 1.99 Euros after the final whistle. (So don’t sign on at halftime expecting to see the whole game.) I think the current exchange rate is about $1.30 per Euro, but don’t quote me. Plus 20% VAT, of course. They’ll take multiple credit cards, and that part is in English. So good luck!

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POST-GAME UPDATE: I tried the fff website. They were happy to take my money — THAT part went smoothly — but when gametime came, all I got was a “Video Not Available” error message. I’ll keep searching for options.
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My goal is to be hanging out in an Irish pub tomorrow afternoon, tipping the bartender to leave it on Setanta, but I’ll probably also check this out afterwards to see if it works.

Good luck to any other fans of my beloved obscure team, and Allez Les Bleus!