Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad Copa del Rey: how and where to watch: times, TV, online
All the info on how to watch the delayed all Basque Copa del Rey final as Athletic face Real Sociedad in Seville. Kick off is at 21:30 CET on 3 April 2021.
FT: Athletic 0-1 Real Sociedad
The all Basque Copa del Rey final between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad was supposed to take place on April 18 last year but, much like virtually all sporting events around the globe at the time, it had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As such, we are left with the slightly awkward prospect of two Copa finals in the space of two weeks. The 2019-20 edition will be played on Saturday, before this season's showpiece – which also includes Athletic, but against Barcelona – takes place 14 days later.
Sadly there will be no fans in La Cartuja, Seville, for the first final, but the occasion will be no less momentous.
Despite the obvious historic nature of it, coverage of the 2019-20 final wasn't entirely positive ahead of the initial date. The new format of the Copa del Rey – ditching two-legged ties for one-off meetings before the semi-finals – was met with much praise on the one hand in its first season last term, as it gave smaller clubs a greater chance of progression, but it simultaneously highlighted potential bias in the mainstream media.
Athletic, king of the cups
Yet Athletic have spent much of the past three decades playing catch-up to their own illustrious past. Since the double-winning side of 1983-84, they have lifted just two trophies, both Supercopas, in 2015 and in January this year. The latter could not even be celebrated via a traditional trip down the Nervion river on the Gabarra – where others say it with open-top buses, Athletic do so with a huge river-faring barge – as another occasion for fans was stolen by the pandemic.
The side from Bilbao will look to add to their impressive haul of 23 cups with Los Leones just behind FC Barcelona in overall cup wins (the Catalan side have 30 wins and both Basque and Catalan side will go head-to-head in a fortnight in the 2020-21 final).
Real Sociedad will be endeavouring to add to their 1909 and 1986-87 cup wins.
What time does the Copa del Rey 2019/20 final start?
The 2019/20 Copa del Rey final between Athletic and Real Sociedad will be played at the Estadio La Cartuja with kick-off at 21:30 CEST on Saturday 03 April, 2021.
That's 20:30 in the UK, 15:30 ET and 12:30 PT.
Find out what time Athletic-Real Sociedad gets underway where you are in the world.
Where can I watch Athletic vs Real Sociedad?
If the match is available in your country, you can click here to see what channels will show the Athletic-Real Sociedad.
Spain: Tele 5
United States: ESPN+
Is the Copa del Rey final online?
The cup final between Athetic and Real Sociedad is available in most nations through the rights holders’ online platform, if they have one. The best option is to check who is showing the game in your country and if they have an online service or Ios/Android app to watch it on.
Copa del Rey final: AS English live coverage
You can also follow our live text commentary here on AS English. We will be building up to the match an hour or so from kick-off before giving you a minute-by-minute account from La Cartuja in Seville as it unfolds.
