Soccer on ESPN and ABC is a number of programs that currently airs

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

matches in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. These matches are from European competitions.

Current programming

United States

USL

ESPN airs all matches from the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

with select matches on

ESPNews ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News," stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hear ...

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

. The games are produced by the USL, and commentary is provided by Mike Watts and Devon Kerr.

College Soccer

ESPN regularly airs college soccer on

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

ACC Network ACC Network (ACCN) is an American multinational subscription-television channel owned and operated by ESPN Inc. Dedicated to coverage of the Atlantic Coast Conference, it was announced in July 2016 and launched on August 22, 2019. The channel ...

, and

Longhorn Network Longhorn Network (LHN) was an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between The University of Texas at Austin, ESPN and Learfield (formerly IMG College), and was operated by ESPN (itself owned jointly by The Walt Disney Compa ...

. Jenn Hildreth is the lead commentator for women's soccer coverage. College soccer is also available on ESPN+ via school productions.

England

FA Cup

ESPN airs all matches from the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

on paid streaming service

, with no games on linear television, including Community Shield (before the cup season stars). This broadcast started in 2018 when

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

coverage of the tournament expired.

Martin Tyler Martin Tyler (born 14 September 1945) is an English Association football, football commentator. He worked as a commentator for Sky Sports from 1990 to 2023, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and inte ...

and

Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for Arsenal, West Ham United where he was their player of the season in 1988, and Coventry City. After his footballing ...

are the lead the broadcast team for World feed broadcasts while

Jon Champion Jonathan Martin Champion (born 23 May 1965) is a British sports commentator currently working as an association football commentator for ESPN and NBC Sports. Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the ...

and

Danny Higginbotham Daniel John Higginbotham (born 29 December 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he represented Gibraltar in international football. Higginbotham started his career in the Manchester United acad ...

are the lead the broadcast team for non-World feed broadcasts. Dan Thomas and Kay Murray present prematch coverage from the ESPN FC studios. In 2020, Dan Thomas hosted coverage of the final with

Craig Burley Craig William Burley (born 24 September 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer and sports television pundit and co-commentator for ESPN. As a player he was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004, notably playing in the Premier League for ...

, Don Hutchison,

Shaka Hislop Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a football commentator and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level. ...

, and reporter Alexis Nunes. The final was commentated by

and

. For other rounds, ESPN airs a digital prematch show hosted by Kay Murray or

Mark Donaldson Mark Gregor Strang Donaldson, (born 2 April 1979) is an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award in the Australian honours system. Then Trooper (rank), Trooper Donaldson was a member of the Speci ...

alongside ESPN FC pundits. During 2022–23 Fourth qualifying round, ESPN produced live coverage of Wrexham's FA Cup matches against

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...

with full studio build up hosted by Angus Scott and Kelly Somers alongside pundits Hal Robson-Kanu,

Steve Watson Steven Craig Watson (born 1 April 1974) is an English football manager and former professional player who is manager of club Darlington. As a player, he was a right-back or midfielder. He played in the Premier League and Football League for N ...

, and Robert Earnshaw with commentary provided by Guy Mowbray and Alan Smith.

Germany

Bundesliga

ESPN won the rights to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

again starting with the 2020–21 season, as well as Supercup (before the league season starts). All matches will air on

with at least four matches per year airing on the linear TV channels. The last time ESPN previously aired the league was in 2011–12. Linear TV matches are preceded by a 30-minute pregame show as well as a digital prematch show with postmatch coverage on ESPN+.

Derek Rae Derek Rae (born 9 April 1967) is a Scottish association football commentator and presenter. He currently works for ESPN and ABC in the United States for the English-language coverages of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and La Liga and Deutsche Fußball ...

and

are the lead broadcast team since 2021–22. Also, Mark Donaldson, Ross Dyer, Jonathan Yardley, Steve Cangialosi,

and Rob Palmer are one other play-by-play announcers while

Lutz Pfannenstiel Lutz Pfannenstiel (born 12 May 1973) is a German former professional football goalkeeper, coach, scout, TV analyst, and the current sporting director for St. Louis City SC. He holds the record as the first of only two footballers to play profes ...

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, and was the starting Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for the United State ...

Janusz Michallik Janusz Michallik (born April 22, 1966, in Chorzów, Poland) is a former professional soccer player, coach, and current television sports commentator. Born in Poland, he represented the United States national team. Youth Michallik moved to the Uni ...

, and

Alejandro Moreno Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera (born July 8, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a forward, and who is a television commentator for ESPN FC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America. Moreno won three MLS Cups during ...

are working as other color commentators. while the ESPN+ matches are commentated by world feed. Studio coverage is hosted by Kay Murray on TV or Dan Thomas on digital alongside

Jan Åge Fjørtoft Jan Åge Fjørtoft (born 10 January 1967) is a Norwegian former professional footballer. A powerful centre forward with goalscoring ability, he played professionally in Norway, Austria, England and Germany. In total, he scored 308 goals in 614 ga ...

, Keller,

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (; born 30 July 1964) is a German professional Association football, football manager and former player. He played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco FC, Monaco, Tottenham Hot ...

Steve Cherundolo Steven Emil Cherundolo (born February 19, 1979) is an American association football, soccer coach and former player who serves as head coach of Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC. A right-back, he was the captain (association football), ca ...

, and reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt. The ''Bundesliga on ABC'' debuted in 2021 with Bayern vs. BVB. Rae and

Taylor Twellman Taylor Timothy Twellman (born February 29, 1980) is an American former soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2010. He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Twellman is best kn ...

called the match while Kay Murray hosted in the studio with analysts Twellman and Klinsmann. ESPN also broadcasts the second-tier competition, the 2. Bundesliga. Every week, at least one match is broadcast on ESPN+, with Ross Dyer or Jonathan Yardley calling the action.

DFB-Pokal

ESPN also air the German domestic cup, the

DFB Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

. Early round matches usually air on

and commentated by world feed. From the quarterfinals onward, matches is airing on linear

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

networks with commentary provided by

, Ross Dyer, Steve Cangialosi, or

alongside

, or

Netherlands

Eredivisie

In 2018, ESPN has reached a multi-year media agreement for airing Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

. Every week, ESPN+ airing four matches in English and some matches are available in Spanish.

Spain

La Liga

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, and

+ acquired the rights to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

in 2021. English-language coverage is led by Dan Thomas and Kay Murray, who will be sharing hosting duties.

Ian Darke Ian Darke (born 1954) is an English association football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN and TNT Sports. Darke was previously one of Sky's "Big Four" football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawth ...

and

Steve McManaman Steven McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He is one of the most decorated English footballers to have played for a club abroad, with the UEFA website stating in 2012 that "of al ...

serve as the lead broadcast team. Other play-by-play men are

Adrian Healey Adrian Healey is an English football commentator, currently working for ESPN and most recently with MLS Season Pass broadcasts on Apple TV. He is a veteran football commentator in the U.S., working for networks such as ESPN; he was part of the ...

, Rob Palmer, Sebastian Salazar, Mark Donaldson, Steve Cangialosi, Ross Dyer,

, Richard Kaufman, Kevin Keatings, Jon Driscoll, Daniel Mann and Jonathan Yardley while other analysts include Luis García,

Pablo Zabaleta Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (; born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player ...

, Alex Pareja,

Diego Forlán Diego Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former football player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his ...

Efan Ekoku Efangwu Goziem Ekoku (born 8 June 1967) is a Nigerian former professional footballer, and sports commentator. As a player, he was a striker who played in the Premier League for Norwich City and Wimbledon, and in Switzerland for Grasshoppers. H ...

and Mario Suarez. Garcia and Zabaleta also contribute as studio analysts. World feed commentator also to be used for several games on ESPN+. For the ''La Liga on ABC'' or big matches like the

El Clásico El Clásico (in Spanish, also in lowercase letters; ) or El Clàssic (in Catalan, ), both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions he ...

, Dan Thomas hosts the prematch on site alongside Luis García and

. All matches are on

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ) is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the ...

. Adal Franco, Cristina Alexander, and Ricardo Puig led Spanish-language coverage. Play-by-play is provided by , Jorge Ramos, Ricardo Ortiz, Richard Mendez, and Mauricio Pedroza alongside

Mario Kempes Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (, ; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker or Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder. A prolific g ...

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific goalscorer known for ...

, Andrés Agulla, Carolina De Las Salas, Alex Pareja, and Hernán Pereyra. Reporters for both languages include Martin Ainstein, Rodrigo Faez, Moises Llorens, Sid Lowe, Manu Martín, Gemma Soler, and London-based football reporter Alexis Nunes.

RFEF The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the national cup competitio ...

, and

are airing both

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

tournaments through 2027.

Other soccer rights acquired by ESPN

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

Former programming

FIFA World Cup

ESPN held the rights to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

in 1986 and between 1994 and 2014 until

picked up the rights for 2018 onward. Matches were aired on

, and

aired the final.

North American Soccer League

In the last few years of its existence, the NASL did manage to get some games on a new cable sports network that had begun in 1979 called

. In 1981, they signed a contract to broadcast 20 games on Saturdays. The new

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

also carried games, usually on Wednesday nights.

Major Indoor Soccer League

The MISL landed a steady national TV contract for the first time since 1983 when they were on USA, as

would televise 15 regular-season games on Sunday afternoons, the All-Star Game and assorted playoff games. beginning in the 1985–86 season. The MISL received no broadcast revenues from ESPN. In other words, the agreement with ESPN to had the league pay the cable network to televise its games. Bill Kentling, director and general manager of the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

, was vehemently against the ESPN deal, thinking that was ridiculous to go against the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

without having any time to set up sponsorship. Commissioner Frank Dale however, disagreed with Kentling's assessment saying: “If I held out waiting for money for the rights for something that has traditionally not done well in the ratings, we'd still be off the air.” Ultimately, the MISL got only three sponsors for the weekly telecasts on ESPN. For the 1986–87 season, ESPN actually paid the MISL a fee instead of the league paying the network, as it had done the previous season. This time, ESPN would broadcast 18 games, including the All-Star Game from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, as well as four playoff games. The San Diego Sockers were scheduled be on four delayed telecasts during the regular season. On commentary, ESPN employed

JP Dellacamera John Paul "JP" Dellacamera (born January 11, 1952) is an American play-by-play sportscaster primarily for Major League Soccer with the Philadelphia Union, as well as major soccer tournaments and ice hockey. Early life Dellacamera grew up in Wa ...

, Bob Kurtz,

Bob Ley Robert A. Ley ( ; born March 16, 1955) is an American sports anchor and reporter, best known for his work at ESPN. A multiple Emmy Award-winner, he was the longest-tenured on-air employee of the network, having joined ESPN just three days after ...

, and Bob Carpenter on play-by-play with

Ty Keough William “Ty” Keough (born December 19, 1956, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American former professional soccer player and coach who has served as a soccer broadcaster for several networks. He earned eight caps with the U.S. national team in ...

, Seamus Malin, and

Shep Messing Shep Norman Messing (born October 9, 1949) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster who works as a studio analyst for the MLS Season Pass team. In 2021 he took the position of chairman of the Major Arena Soccer League. He ...

as analysts.

National Professional Soccer League

Starting with the 1993–94 season, NPSL games would be broadcast on both

and the then brand new

, giving national exposure to the league. As part of a three-year agreement, a ''Game of the Week'' (dubbed ''Balls of Fire'') would be televised on ESPN2 on Friday nights. ESPN2 would carry as many as 20 games in 1993–94 and 24 in 1994–95. Meanwhile, the best-of-five playoff finals in late April and the NPSL All-Star Game at

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

on February 22 would be carried on ESPN. It was routine however for ESPN to heavily edit rebroadcast of games that were initially aired on ESPN2 fit it into a two-hour time slot. Dave Johnson and Art Kramer were ESPN's initial primary broadcast team. Other commentators included Gregg Mace and Ed Vucinic, who by 1995–96, would provide play-by-play for the NPSL Championship Series alongside Art Kramer.

UEFA Champions League

ESPN formerly had the rights of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

between 1995 and 2009.

and

Tommy Smyth Thomas Michael Smyth (pronounced Smith) (born 19 December 1946) is an Irish soccer commentator. Since February 1993, he has been employed by ESPN in the United States, where his primary role is as color commentator and in-studio analyst for ...

are the lead commentary team, with the

team being

and

Robbie Mustoe Robin "Robbie" Mustoe (born 28 August 1968) is an English former professional footballer who now works as a commentator for NBC Sports. He made nearly 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League playing primarily as a defensive ...

. The pre-match programme was hosted by Andrew Orsatti.

English Premier League

formerly aired matches from the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

between 1996 and 1998, and then from 2009 to 2013. From 2010 to 2013, ESPN2 had its own commentary team of

and

calling the action live in England, with Darrell Currie, Dave Beckett, or

Alicia Ferguson Alicia Ann "Eesh" Ferguson (born 31 October 1981) is an Australian soccer player who represented the Australia women's national soccer team at the 1999 and 2007 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup. Ferguson debuted for Australia at the age o ...

reporting pitchside. On occasion, the network would simulcast

ESPN UK TNT Sports 4 is a British sports television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and the BT Group. It is part of the TNT Sports group of channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel was established by ESPN Inc. on August 3 ...

's coverage with full studio coverage from host

Ray Stubbs Raymond J. Stubbs (born 24 May 1956) is an English broadcaster and former footballer. He worked as a presenter for the BBC, ESPN and BT Sport, and now works for Talksport radio. His recent television work includes covering the World Seniors Cha ...

Rebecca Lowe Rebecca Lowe (born 11 November 1980) is a British and American television presenter and anchor who works for NBC and NBC Sports. She previously worked at the BBC, Setanta Sports UK and ESPN UK. Early life and education The daughter of BBC News ...

and commentary from Jon Champion and

Chris Waddle Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He had a spell as Burnley manager during the 1997–98 season, but has not returned to coaching since. Largely since retiring he h ...

. In the U.S., ESPN's studio team was host Andrew Orsatti or Georgie Bingham with analyst

English Football League

ESPN aired select matches from the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

, and

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

on paid streaming service

. This broadcast started in 2017 and ended in 2024 when

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

picked up the rights.

and

lead on-site commentary. The 2020 promotion playoff Final was hosted by Alexis Nunes alongside pundit

Don Hutchison Donald Hutchison (born 9 May 1971) is a former professional footballer. Hutchison is a football television pundit and commentator for ESPN FC. As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpool, West Ham Un ...

and guest Jack Harrison. The 2021 promotion playoff Final was presented by Dan Thomas alongside

in the studio, Don Hutchison and Alexis Nunes on-site, and Champion and Matt Lawrence commentating.

Serie A

In 2018, ESPN won the rights for Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

when beIN Sports' contract expired. ESPN is set to air over 340 matches each season, with a Game of the Week on

, or

and the rest of the matches on streaming service

. There is also a weekly preview and highlight show on

. ESPN uses its own broadcast teams for games shown on television - commentary is provided by play-by-play

and analyst Matteo Bonetti - with all other matches each week shown on

+. Ross Dyer and Steve Cangialosi fill-in when Donaldson is working

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

works as the secondary game analyst. Commentary for matches on

is taken from the World Feed. ESPN FC provides viewers with Serie A analysis show ''The Serie Awesome Podcast'' with Italian football writers

Gabriele Marcotti Gabriele Marcotti (born 28 July 1973) is an Italian sports journalist, sports author, and radio-television presenter. Born in Italy and now based in London, he was raised in the United States (Chicago and New York), Poland, Germany and Japan. E ...

, Mina Rzouki, and

James Horncastle James Horncastle is an English sportswriter and broadcaster. Specialising in European and Italian football, Horncastle frequently covers football for TNT Sports. Career Horncastle speaks fluent Italian having formerly lived in Rome. Horncastl ...

. The rights package also including both Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana tournaments. ESPN airs twenty-four matches of

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, beginning from Round of 16 through two-leg semifinals on

. Meanwhile, the Coppa Italia Final and the

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

will air on

, or

also on

. This broadcast started in January 2019. In May 2021, ESPN ended its coverage of Serie A as

picked up the rights.

Scottish Professional Football League

ESPN acquires the rights of the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

started in October 2020. Every week, at least one match is airing on

in English and Spanish. In addition, ESPN will also have coverage of select matches from the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

and

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Steve Nicol Stephen Nicol (born 11 December 1961) is a Scottish retired professional footballer who mainly played as a right back and occasionally played in other positions across defence and midfield. He played for the successful Liverpool teams of the 1 ...

commentate on high-profile matches. In July 2021, coverage was picked up by

UEFA competitions for national teams

ESPN aired matches from the A-team, youth, and junior European Soccer Championships,

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

qualifying competitions, and

friendlies. These matches were on all

owned channels. These rights moved to

after summer 2022.

USMNT/USWNT

have shared the rights for

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is a member of FIFA sinc ...

and

USWNT The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

matches with

. For men's matches,

and

commentated the action with Sebastian Salazar serving as the host alongside

Jermaine Jones Jermaine Junior Jones (born November 3, 1981) is a former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. Jones was last the head coach of Central Valley Fuego FC in USL League One. Born in Germany to an American father an ...

, and

Herculez Gomez Herculez Gomez (born April 6, 1982) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He currently works as a commentator in both English and Spanish for ESPN. Early ...

. The women's matches were commentated by Ian Darke, Sebastian Salazar,

, or Glenn Davis alongside color commentator

Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...

. These rights have now moved to

TNT Sports TNT Sports is the brand name for sports television channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world that are owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The name originates from the American cable television ...

in 2022.

Major League Soccer

ESPN aired

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

matches on

and

from the league's beginning in 1996 until 2022.

aired select MLS games on Saturday and Sunday during the regular season, select playoff games annually, and the MLS Cup in odd-numbered years in 2019 and 2021. ESPN also aired out-of-market / some market games on

and

were the last lead broadcast team. (See '' MLS on ESPN''). All coverage headed to

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

after 2022 and ESPN did not renew MLS rights.

Leagues Cup

ESPN annually aired the

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

, an interleague competition between all clubs from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

and

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

and

. When

launched

MLS Season Pass MLS Season Pass is a soccer streaming service operated by Apple Inc. which includes live matches from Major League Soccer (MLS). The package was launched in the 2023 Major League Soccer season as part of a new 10-year media rights agreement be ...

, all Leagues Cup matches moved there.

International Champions Cup

ESPN aired the summer friendly tournament

International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football (soccer) official competition staged from 2013 to 2019. COVID-19 resulted in the 2020 edition being cancelled. The tournament was later abolished, but the Women's I ...

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an internet, online streaming media, streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) an ...

, and

until it was abolished in 2020.

On-air personalities

Play-by-play announcers

Color commentators

Presenters

Studio analyst

Reporters

Past international coverage and broadcast teams

FIFA World Cup

1970 World Cup

This was the first World Cup on

featuring commentary from broadcaster

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His intro ...

1982 World Cup

Coverage was led by

and color commentator Seamus Malin. For the final on ABC,

, Mario Machado, and Paul Gardner called the final between Italy and West Germany at

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, ...

. (See

List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

)

1986 World Cup

was the play-by-play announcer alongside color commentators Seamus Malin and

. Remaining matches were called by the World Feed. (See

)

1994 World Cup

The

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

marked the return of the World Cup on

and

and the first time they used their own commentary teams for all matches.

Roger Twibell Roger Claude Twibell is an American sportscaster, who most recently called Arkansas State Red Wolves football broadcasts on ESPN+ in 2018. He has worked at ABC, ESPN, CBS Sports Network and the Big Ten Network. He also works on pre-season game ...

, Seamus Malin, and

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. national team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

were the lead broadcast team.

Al Trautwig Alan Trautwig (February 26, 1956 – February 23, 2025) was an American sports commentator who worked with MSG Network, ABC, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and USA Network. He later did pre-game and post-game shows for the New York Knicks and New Yo ...

and Davis were the secondary broadcast team. Other play-by-play announcers were: Bob Carpenter Bob Ley, Ian Darke,

Randy Hahn Randy Hahn (born October 21, 1958) is a Canadian-American play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks on NBC Sports California, and has held that position for over 30 seasons. He has over 40 years of broadcast experience, mostly in hockey. Ran ...

, and Jim Donovan. Other color commentators were:

Clive Charles Clive Michael Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games. Charles was born in ...

Peter Vermes Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. From 2009 to 2025, he was the manager of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. Entering the 2025 MLS season, Vermes was the lon ...

Ron Newman Ronald Vernon Newman (19 January 1934 – 27 August 2018) was an English professional association football player and coach. He is a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame. Life Born in Fareham, Newman, after non-league football w ...

, and Bill McDermott.

was the studio host alongside studio analyst Desmond Armstrong only for games on ABC. (See

)

1998 World Cup

Bob Ley and Seamus Malin was the lead broadcast team with four other broadcast teams include:

and Mike Hill, JP Dellacamera and Bill McDermott,

and

, and Phil Schoen and Tommy Smyth.

Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was the original host of their ...

and

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and former player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

worked in the studio for

while Phil Schoen and

Dave Revsine Dave Revsine (born July 20, 1969), is an American sportscaster, and sports columnist and journalist who currently serves as the lead studio host for the Big Ten Network. Previously, he was a journalist at ESPN anchoring on ''SportsCenter'' and E ...

hosted "''World Cup2Night''" on ESPN2 with analysts Julie Foudy, Keough, Smyth, and Jim St. Andre. (See

)

2002 World Cup

Hockey play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards and color commentator

led the commentary teams in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Three other broadcast teams called games in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

were: JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth, Glenn Davis and

, and Mike Hill and Seamus Malin.

Terry Gannon Terrance Patrick Gannon (born November 1, 1963) is a sportscaster for NBC Sports, Golf Channel and Peacock, currently announcing golf, gymnastics, figure skating, and college basketball. Gannon played basketball for North Carolina State Unive ...

hosted in the studio alongside studio analysts

and

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with ...

. (See

)

2006 World Cup

Lead MLS and

play-by-play announcer Dave O'Brien and color commentator

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After r ...

worked as the lead broadcast team in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with other broadcast teams: JP Dellacamera and

John Harkes John Andrew Harkes (born March 8, 1967) is an American Association football, soccer coach and former professional player who last coached Greenville Triumph SC. A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Harkes was the first American to pla ...

, Glenn Davis and

, Adrian Healey and Tommy Smyth, and Rob Stone and

Robin Fraser Robin Fraser (born December 17, 1966) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. He previously served as head coach of Colorado Rapids and Chivas USA and as an assistant for Real ...

returned for his 2nd World Cup as lead studio host with other hosts

Rece Davis William Laurece Davis (born ) is an American sports television journalist for ESPN/ESPN on ABC, ABC. Davis works as an anchor on ''SportsCenter'' and serves as host of various other programs on the network, including ''College GameDay (football ...

, and

. Studio analysts in the studio were:

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander Lalas (; born June 1, 1970) is an American former soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where ...

, Julie Foudy, and

Heather Mitts Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played college soccer for the University of Florida, and thereafter, she played professionally in the Women's Professional ...

. (See

)

2010 World Cup

's coverage of the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

has been widely recognized as a breakthrough in US soccer broadcasting. Esteemed commentator

led a team of all-British commentators in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Chris Fowler Chris Fowler (born August 23, 1962) is an American sports broadcaster for ESPN, who serves as the play-by-play announcer for '' Saturday Night Football'' on ABC and ESPN's tennis coverage. He is also known for his work on '' College GameDay ...

and

Mike Tirico Michael Todd Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022, and is set to become the lead play-by-play anno ...

were the lead hosts in a studio set right outside of

Soccer City First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and The Calabash, is an association football (soccer) and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. The site is m ...

, who called

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

games, worked with

as the network's lead broadcast team. Ian Darke and

, who called

games were the secondary broadcast team. Other broadcast teams were: Derek Rae and

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...

, Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe, and

Jim Proudfoot Jim Proudfoot (born 16 December 1972) is an English football commentator who has worked on national radio and television since the late 1990s. Early life Proudfoot was born in the West Country on 16 December 1972 but moved to the Midlands at a yo ...

and

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (; born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Re ...

. Studio analysts included: Steve McManaman, Jürgen Klinsmann, Roberto Martínez,

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a former Dutch Association football, footballer and subsequent manager. Regarded among the greatest footballers of all time, he was also noted for his Utility player#Association football, abili ...

, Alexi Lalas,

Shaun Bartlett Shaun Bartlett (born 31 October 1972) is a South African professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Cape Town Spurs. During his playing career, he played as a striker. Early life Born in Cape Town, Bartlett was r ...

, and Tommy Smyth. Bob Ley was another studio host, working his 4th World Cup. Reporters were:

Jeremy Schaap Jeremy Schaap (born 1969) is an American sportswriter, television reporter and author. Schaap is an 11-time Emmy Awards winner for his work on ESPN's ''E:60'', ''SportsCenter'', and ''Outside the Lines''. Biography Schaap was born in New York ...

(USA and Final), Julie Foudy, Allen Hopkins, Rob Stone, Selema Masekela, Andrew Orsatti (Australia), John Sutcliffe (Mexico), and Dan Williams (South Africa).

2014 World Cup

The 2014 World Cup marked the end of the

and

. Ian Darke and Steve McManaman were the lead broadcast team,

and Stewart Robson were the #2 team. Other play-by-play announcers were: Derek Rae,

Daniel Mann Daniel Chugerman (August 8, 1912 – November 21, 1991), known professionally as Daniel Mann, was an American stage, film director, film and television director. Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he direct ...

, Adrian Healey, and Fernando Palomo. Other color commentators: Taylor Twellman, Craig Burley,

, Roberto Martínez, Kasey Keller, and

. All commentators were in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with the top 5 teams at the stadiums while the remaining team called matches off monitors in

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

was the lead studio host alongside other hosts Bob Ley and

Lynsey Hipgrave Lynsey Hipgrave (née Horn; born 6 September 1979) is an English television, radio presenter and journalist, currently working for British broadcaster TNT Sports. Broadcasting career Radio Hipgrave's initial break came on Manchester radio station ...

with analysts: Alexi Lalas, McManaman,

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...

, Moreno, Keller,

Gilberto Silva Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (; born 7 October 1976) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder, most notably for Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro a ...

Santiago Solari Santiago Hernán Solari Poggio (born 7 October 1976) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a left midfielder. He spent the better part of his 16-year professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals ...

, Martínez, Twellman, and

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

. Reporters included:

(Lead), Julie Foudy,

Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News (United States), ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ''ABC World News Tonight'' in 2006 with journalist Elizabeth ...

, John Sutcliffe, and Rubens Pozzi.

UEFA European Football Championship

Euro 2008

Following controversy over

's "American" commentary teams, the network decided to use more traditional coverage by tapping Adrian Healey and Andy Gray or Robbie Mustoe to be its lead broadcast team. ESPN also tapped Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth to be its secondary broadcast team. The studio team featured hosts Rece Davis and Rob Stone with analysts Julie Foudy and Alexi Lalas. Gray and Smyth also served as pundits later in the nightly recap shows.

Euro 2012

and

were the lead commentary team for

, being on-site from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

for the entire tournament. Other broadcast teams were:

and

with the former going on-site starting with the quarterfinals. The studio team was based at headquarters in Bristol. Studio hosts were

, Max Bretos, and

. Studio analysts were:

, Keller, Twellman, and

Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and TNT Sports. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...

and Roberto Martínez were the special contributors, who were live from

and

and Darrell Currie are the reporters.

Euro 2016

was live in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with a set on the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

. Mike Tirico,

Steve Bower Stephen Robert Bower is an English football commentator. He is best known as one of the main voices for BBC TV's Match of the Day, culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cups. Bower comme ...

, and Bob Ley hosted. Ian Darke, Steve McManaman, and Taylor Twellman returned as the lead broadcast team. Jon Champion and Stewart Robson were the secondary team. The top two broadcast teams called the games on-site in the country. Other play-by-play announcers were: Derek Rae, Adrian Healey,

br>
and Max Bretos. Other color commentators were: Tommy Smyth, Alejandro Moreno,

Kate Markgraf Kathryn Michele Markgraf (; born August 23, 1976) is the former General Manager of the United States women's national soccer team and a retired American professional soccer defender. She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS, ...

, and

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English Association football, football player and Coach (sport), coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley F.C., Chorley. He became a professional p ...

. Studio analysts were: Craig Burley,

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

, who missed that tournament with a serious injury, Julie Foudy, Roberto Martínez,

Frank Leboeuf Franck Alain James Leboeuf (born 22 January 1968), commonly known as Frank Leboeuf, is a French actor, sports commentator and former footballer who played as a centre-back. With the France national team, Leboeuf won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and U ...

, Michael Ballack, and Kasey Keller.

Marty Smith Marty Smith (November 26, 1956 – April 27, 2020) was an American professional motocross racer. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1974 to 1981, most prominently as a member of the Honda factory racing team with whom he won 1 ...

, and Alison Bender were reporters.

Euro 2020

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by the Union of E ...

is broadcast live by

(5 matches),

(40 matches including Final), and

(6 matches). This is the first time since 2008 that ABC broadcast the European Championships free-to-air.

will be the lead host alongside

Kelly Cates Kelly Cates (née Dalglish; born 28 September 1975) is a Scottish presenter, currently working for Sky Sports, BBC Radio 5 Live and ESPN. Early life Born in Glasgow, Kelly is the eldest of four children of former Celtic and Liverpool player a ...

, Sebastian Salazar, Kay Murray, and Dalen Cuff.

and

are the lead broadcast team, being based at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Other broadcast teams are: Jon Champion and Taylor Twellman, Derek Rae and

, Steve Cangialosi and Alejandro Moreno, and Mark Donaldson and Matteo Bonetti. Studio analysts were: Steve McManaman,

Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for ...

, Julie Foudy,

Tim Howard Timothy Matthew Howard (born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the part-owner of club Dagenham & Redbridge as well as an international ambassador in the United States for Premie ...

Sami Khedira Sami Khedira (; ; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid CF, Re ...

, Chris Coleman,

Nedum Onuoha Chinedum Onuoha (born 12 November 1986) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit for ESPN. He also works for Manchester City as a community ambassador. As a player he was a centre back, but could also play at right back ...

, Kasey Keller,

Christian Fuchs Christian Fuchs (; born 7 April 1986) is an Austrian former professional association football, footballer who played as a left back. He was a part of Leicester City F.C., Leicester City's 2015–16 Premier League campaign, where they won. He be ...

, Luis García, and Craig Burley. Former referee

Mark Clattenburg Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975) is an English former professional Association football, football Referee (association football), referee. Clattenburg is a former member of the Premier League and the Durham County Football Association an ...

will work as rules analyst. Reporters included: Sam Borden, Martin Ainstein, Archie Rhind-Tutt, and Alexis Nunes. Initially, ESPN planned to send all commentators to every match and have studio programming originate out of an outdoor studio in

, however, due to the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

, studio programming and all but one broadcast team are from ESPN HQ in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. However, starting in the quarterfinals, ESPN sends Champion and Twellman to call the Belgium-Italy match from

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and Italy-Spain semifinal match from Wembley. Darke and Twellman called the Euro 2020 Final at the same stadium.

Confederations Cup

2009 Confederations Cup

Rece Davis and Alexi Lalas worked in the studio during the

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton ...

. ESPN tapped '' MLS on ESPNs lead broadcast team of JP Dellacamera and

to be its lead broadcast team. Other broadcast teams were: Derek Rae and

and Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe.

2013 Confederations Cup

Bob Ley hosted in the studio alongside analysts Steve McManaman,

, and Michael Ballack. Ian Darke and Stewart Robson was the lead broadcast team. Other broadcast teams were: Fernando Palomo and Alejandro Moreno and Adrian Healey and Kasey Keller.

Broadcast teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soccer on ESPN ESPN original programming ABC Sports American live television series

1980s American sports television series 1990s American sports television series 2000s American sports television series 2010s American sports television series 2020s American sports television series