Online football fans urged to check speeds first

Much has been made of plans for the World Cup Qualifying match between the Ukraine and England being shown exclusively on the internet.

The main reason for this is that it should have been shown live on pay-TV broadcaster Setanta, which went into administration in June, and since no other broadcaster wishes to pay to show the match, then the internet is the last resort.

Several national newspapers are charging £4.99 for football fans to watch the match on a computer, but the subscriptions are being limited to one million.

Can the internet stand the strain?

Football fans are being warned that a slow broadband connection could spoil the match.

The slower the broadband speed, the more chance there is that the video link will stall, lag or stop altogether, and in a football match anything can happen in a matter of seconds.