'Piracy costs our clubs $800m': Soccer league home to Yamal and Mbappe to "skewer" free illegal football streams with AI in real time

Date:
Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:05:00 +0000

Description:
Soccer piracy is costing Spanish clubs up to $800m and pushing leagues toward real-time AI tools that detect illegal streams.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Soccer piracy losses estimated between $700M and $800M annually Real-time AI detection cuts piracy rates across major matches Traditional blocking tools struggle against large-scale streaming networks Piracy of live football streams has grown into an industrial-scale problem, with Spanish clubs warning that illegal viewing is draining hundreds of millions of dollars from the sport each year.

LaLiga estimates piracy costs its clubs, which include Real Madrid,
Barcelona, and Atltico Madrid, between $700m and $800m annually, a figure
that reflects both lost subscriptions and declining broadcast value. The league has been working with infrastructure company Fastly on tools which attempt to detect illegal streams as matches unfold rather than after they have already spread. Article continues below You may like La Liga wins court order, requiring NordVPN and Proton VPN to block illegal football streams in Spain but VPN firms say they have not been notified La Liga's war on piracy is breaking the internet in Spain and your VPN could be the next target Spain's LaLiga blocks US government's Freedom.gov portal in piracy crackdown The problem of Illegal streaming Millions of unauthorized streams now operate in parallel during major matches, often appearing faster than traditional enforcement tools can react.

A study by Grant Thornton recorded at least 10.8 million unauthorized retransmissions of live events in 2024, with more than 81% never suspended
and only 2.7% removed within the first 30 minutes.

Illegal streaming is widespread across Europe, with estimates suggesting nearly four million people in the UK use unauthorized sources to watch live sport.

Traditional methods such as IP blocking have long been used to restrict
access to illegal streams, but those measures can disrupt legitimate viewers while pirate services quickly reappear under new addresses. That has created
a cycle where enforcement lags behind distribution. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

LaLiga and Fastly have been developing systems that rely on AI and content-based signals to identify illegal streams in real time. Instead of blocking large network ranges, the system focuses on detecting specific signals linked to copyrighted broadcasts.

At LaLiga, we have succeeded in reducing piracy of our streams in Spain by
60% during the 2024/25 season through a comprehensive, end-to-end strategy focused on legal, educational, institutional, and technological measures,
said Javier Tebas, President at LaLiga.

This success is due in large part to our ecosystem of partners like Fastly, enabling us to continue exploring new and more effective ways to tackle
piracy at its root. LaLiga remains firmly committed to putting an end to piracy, and achieving this goal requires the collaboration of all
stakeholders working together. What to read next French court backs LFP and orders top VPNs to block illegal football streams How to watch Champions League Quarter-Finals: Free Streams & TV Channels Man City vs Real Madrid
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The partnership focuses on shrinking the time window in which illegal streams can operate before being flagged and removed.

Faster detection increases the chance of stopping unauthorized broadcasts before large audiences gather.

Unlike alternative approaches based on regional blocking, our strategy
focuses on precision, letting fans enjoy the game while protecting content from abuse by criminals, said Kelly Shortridge, Chief Product Officer at Fastly.

At Fastly, we love co-innovating with customers to solve their thorniest challenges, and we look forward to continuing our work with LaLiga to help protect content owners around the world.

Efforts to curb piracy are becoming more technical as viewing habits shift online and illegal distribution tools grow more sophisticated. Leagues increasingly view rapid detection and targeted removal as necessary to
protect broadcast revenue and limit the spread of unauthorized streams.
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