ESPN Radio will also broadcast all 64 matches. Today, ESPN FIFA World Cup executive producer Jed Drake announced the ESPN commentator assignments for the first 10 days of the tournament (through each team’s first two matches of pool play). Highlights:
Legendary play-by-play commentator Martin Tyler, who has called every FIFA World Cup tournament since 1978, will pair with former Nigerian National Team player Efan Ekoku on the opening match – South Africa vs. Mexico – from Johannesburg Friday, June 11 at 9:30 a.m. ET (ESPN);
Tyler and former United States National Team captain John Harkes will call the England vs. U.S. match from Rustenburg Saturday, June 12 at 2 p.m. (ABC), one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament;
Harkes will serve as match analyst on all U.S. team matches, paired with different play-by-play commentators;
Tyler and former Scottish National Team player Ally McCoist will call Germany vs. Australia Sunday, June 13 at 2 p.m. (ABC) from Durban;
Ian Darke and Ekoku will call the first match for defending FIFA World Cup champion Italy vs. Paraguay Monday, June 14 at 2 p.m. (ESPN) from Cape Town;
Darke and Ekoku will call Ivory Coast vs. Portugal from Group G Tuesday, June 15 at 9:30 a.m. (ESPN);
Tyler and Ekoku will call Brazil vs. Ivory Coast, also from the “Group of Death,” Sunday, June 20, at 2 p.m. (ABC);
On ESPN Radio, the lead broadcast team of JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth will call the South Africa vs. Mexico opener, as well as all U.S. team matches, including the England match June 12;
“ESPN’s World Cup commentator assignments will give fans the very best and most knowledgeable voices for the specific matchups in this year’s tournament,” said Drake. "We will use different pairings throughout pool play to better inform and entertain fans and to give us greater flexibility in South Africa.”
ESPN’s 2010 FIFA World Cup match commentators include: play-by-play voices -- Darke, Adrian Healey, Derek Rae and Tyler; and analysts – Ekoku, Harkes, McCoist and Robbie Mustoe. ESPN Radio’s commentator teams include: Dellacamera and Smyth; Glenn Davis and Kyle Martino; and Ross Dyer and Shep Messing. Assignments for the conclusion of pool play and for the knockout round will be announced as the tournament progresses.
ESPN at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa 2010 will be ESPN’s seventh FIFA World Cup and coverage of the event promises to be the most comprehensive in company history. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will air all 64 matches live and in high definition, and more than 50 matches will be televised live in Portuguese on ESPN Deportes. Additionally, ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network, will offer simulcasts of all matches on ESPN and ESPN2; ESPN 3D, which launches June 11, will televise 25 matches; ESPN Radio will broadcast all 64 matches in English and provide additional multi-language match coverage; and ESPN’s mobile platforms will provide coverage of all 64 matches. ESPN will present 2010 FIFA World Cup television studio programming from site in South Africa, offering U.S. sports fans the most comprehensive news and information coverage throughout the month-long soccer showcase. Studio coverage will include SportsCenter segments, a nightly World Cup Live program, and pre, halftime and post-match shows, with additional studio programming and World Cup-branded segments, totaling more than 65 hours of coverage, originating from two sets in and around Johannesburg. ESPN International is also a FIFA World Cup rights-holder in Brazil and in the Indian Sub-continent and will provide extensive news and information coverage around the world.
