Everton Football Club streamed a first-team game on Facebook Live for the first time ever yesterday as Ronald Koeman’s side drew with Spanish giants Sevilla 2-2 in their final pre-season friendly of the summer.

The live match was made available via the official Everton Facebook page giving the stream an estimated reach of 3.4m and was watched by over 1.5m football fans from around the world.

Supporters who tuned in were able to interact with commentary team Darren Griffiths and former Everton midfielder and now Club Ambassador Ian Snodin throughout the game. As well as commentating on the match, the duo read out Facebook Live posts on air as fans passed their own comments and reaction to the live stream.

Viewers tuning into Facebook got a chance to see the Blues wear a special commemorative kit to celebrate 125 years of Goodison Park. The enhanced exposure ensured more supporters were able to see the first-team players wearing the one-off kit which is available to pre-order online.  

The stream attracted viewers from all over the world with the bulk of supporters watching in the UK. Foreign Blues were not deterred by the time difference with fans in Thailand, USA, Spain and Singapore  making up the top 5 countries where fans logged in to watch.