More than half-a-billion people will watch the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Wigan

With television rights sold to over 100 countries and the unusual kick-off time of 5.15pm catering to time zones around the globe, the Football Association’s showcase competition final will be watched by more people than ever before.

In the year when the FA celebrates its 150th anniversary, as Manchester City take to the field against Wigan Athletic, some 500million fans from China to the USA will be tuning in.

Such is the enduring pull of the FA Cup Final, that this year’s sponsor Budweiser has chosen to feature a special two minute long TV film made up of fan photography which has been tweeted to #tothedream from matches throughout the 2012/13 tournament.

The film tells the story of the world’s oldest football cup competition from the fan’s perspective, with thousands of photos taken by fans during the tournament and submitted via Twitter.

The use of such a 120-second advert slot just before the game is very unusal and is normally reserved for its World Cup and Super Bowl advertising campaigns. It will be screened during the last commercial break on both ITV & ESPN before kick off at 5.15pm.

The film will also be shown on the big screens at Wembley before kick off.