In a first for English football, this weekend's Ukraine vs England game will not be available on television at all. Instead, viewers will have to watch England play online, via a live stream provided by internet sports company Perform.
The unique experiment has come about because of the failure of Setanta, an Irish sports broadcaster that had previously owned the rights to show the Ukraine v England game on English television. Unable to sell on the rights to another British television company, Kentaro, the company that now owns the rights to the game, decided that its best chance of recouping its expenses and making a profit was to sell access to the game online.
They'll be streaming the game live on Saturday evening to a maximum of 1 million subscribers, who will pay a fee ranging from between £4.99 and £11.99, depending on how close to the start of the game they book their virtual tickets.
The move has predictably caused outrage among some English football fans, as there is a strong belief in the country that important sporting events, such as those involving the national football team, should be broadcast on free to air tv.
Nonetheless, sales for the game seem to be brisk so far, and a number of websites have set up articles such as this guide explaining how to watch England vs Ukraine free.
Saturday also sees a critical qualifying match for the hopes of Russia's national football team. Russia take on Germany on the artificial grass of Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, knowing that only victory in their last two matches will guarantee their qualification for next summer's World Cup in South Africa. Germany need only three points from their remaining two games to secure qualification, but the hope in Moscow is that a braying home crowd, and the unusual artificial turf, will help Russia to the victory that they so desperately need.