The World Surf League (WSL) has announced a deal to show all of its events on Facebook Live this year.

The one-year agreement includes live coverage of all elite Championship Tour and Big Wave Tour events in 2017, with this year’s schedule set to begin on Australia’s Gold Coast next week.

A WSL statement said the partnership ‘will allow more interaction between fans on a global level’ and added that Facebook is an ideal platform to showcase surfing events due to the unpredictably of wave conditions and event scheduling.

The WSL has previously streamed coverage of its competitions on YouTube and via its own website. Facebook, meanwhile, has been busy building out its live streaming rights portfolio in recent months, penning deals with the likes of Spain's La Liga and Mexico's Liga MX. It is also said to be in talks to carry stream Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season games.

"As a truly digital-first league, streaming the entirety of our season on Facebook speaks to the pioneering nature of our sport,” said Tim Greenberg, WSL's chief community officer.

“With Facebook's scale, we can better serve even more fans by bringing the magic and drama of professional surfing directly to their feeds. It's an incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of sports media distribution."

In related news, the WSL is now without a title sponsor for its elite men’s and women’s Championship Tour after Samsung declined to renew its deal after three years in the role.