Sky Sports kicks off its biggest ever football season

Sky Sports will kick off its biggest ever season of live football with three matches in three days from the Sky Bet EFL, featuring three giants of the division: Fulham v Newcastle Utd on Friday 5 August, followed by QPR v Leeds Utd and Sheffield Wednesday v Aston Villa on Sunday 7 August.

These matches are the first three of another unmissable season to be confirmed for broadcast by Sky Sports and the EFL. Matches for the period up to 24 September will be confirmed during July.

Sky Sports Head of Football Gary Hughes said: “It’s always a special moment when the football fixtures are announced and we’re very excited to confirm our first set of EFL games.

“The EFL has never been stronger and the three leagues always deliver drama, passion and great stories over the course of the season. In 2016 -2017 there’s more football than ever before to enjoy, and more ways to follow all the action that excites and entertains us.”

Also, today at 1pm Sky Sports will live stream the draw for the first round of the EFL Cup on Facebook, YouTube and across Sky Sports platforms.

This season Sky Sports will show more than 700 matches from eight different leagues across its channels and digital outlets. For the first time viewers will be able to enjoy regular live coverage of Premier League matches on Friday nights in addition to those shown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and Monday Night Football.

In another first, viewers in the Republic of Ireland will also be able to enjoy live coverage of the Premier League in a regular slot on Saturday afternoons at 3pm. And an expanded mobile clips service delivered by the Sky Sports’ Football Score Centre app will enable users to enjoy more highlights of Premier League and Football League matches on their phones on match days.