Soccer on ESPN and ABC is a number of programs that currently airs soccer matches in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. These matches are from International, European, and American competitions.

Current programming

International Champions Cup

ESPN airs summer friendly tournament

International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football exhibition competition. In 2020, it was abolished due to COVID-19 pandemic. Format The format has changed in each competition. Subsequent tournaments have had diffe ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

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 fo ...

, ESPN3, ESPN+, and

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') 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 ...

United States

USL

ESPN airs all matches from the USL on ESPN+ 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 Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...

or ESPNU. 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 ESPNU,

SEC Network The SEC Network 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 holds ...

, ACC Network, and

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

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

England

EFL

ESPN airs select matches from the EFL Championship, EFL League One, EFL League Two, and EFL Cup on paid streaming service ESPN+. This broadcast started in 2017. 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 Talksport and ESPN FC. As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpoo ...

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

Shaka Hislop Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a retired footballer 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. The majority of his ...

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

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

and Stewart Robson lead on-site commentary.

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 knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

on paid streaming service ESPN+, 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 ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

coverage Coverage may refer to: Filmmaking * Coverage (lens), the size of the image a lens can produce * Camera coverage, the amount of footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene * Script coverage, a short summary of a script, wri ...

of the tournament expired.

Martin Tyler Martin Tyler (born 14 September 1945) is an English football commentator. He has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports since 1990, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and international competition ...

and Stewart Robson are the lead the broadcast team for World feed broadcasts while

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. Twellman is best known for his play with the New Eng ...

are the lead the broadcast team for non-World feed broadcasts. 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,

, and reporter Alexis Nunes. The final was commentated by

and Stewart Robson. 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 Donaldson was a member of the Special Air Service ...

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 a 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 secretary before fo ...

with full studio build up hosted by Angus Scott and Kelly Somers alongside pundits

Hal Robson-Kanu Thomas Henry Alex "Hal" Robson-Kanu (born 21 May 1989) is a Welsh inactive professional footballer who last played as a forward for West Bromwich Albion and the Wales national team. Although he initially played primarily on the wing, he was us ...

, Steve Watson, and Robert Earnshaw with commentary provided by

Guy Mowbray Guy Nicholas Mowbray (born 16 February 1972) is an English football commentator, who primarily appears on the BBC and BT Sport. While working for Eurosport at the 1998 World Cup, he became the youngest ever television commentator on a World Cup ...

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. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

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

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 for the only footballer to play professionally in ...

are the lead broadcast team since 2021–22. Also, Mark Donaldson and one of

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...

, Pfannenstiel, or Janusz Michallik are working as the secondary broadcast team 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. He appeared in 71 international matche ...

, Keller,

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

, Steve Cherundolo, and reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt. The ''Bundesliga on ABC'' debuted in 2021 with Bayern vs. BVB. Rae and Twellman 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 The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. 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 ( 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 Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

. Early round matches usually air on ESPN3 and commentated by world feed. From quarterfinal, matches is airing on linear TV channels, mostly on

and

with commentary provided by Derek Rae, Ross Dyer or Steve Cangialosi and

, 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 the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

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

Spain

La Liga

ESPN, ABC, and ESPN+ are set to begin coverage of

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

for the 2021–22 season. 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 BT Sport. Darke was previously one of Sky's "Big Four" football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. ...

and Steve McManaman serve as the lead broadcast team. Other play-by-play men are Derek Rae,

Adrian Healey Adrian Healey is an English football commentator, currently working 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 ESPN commentary team in S ...

, Rob Palmer, Sebastian Salazar, Mark Donaldson, Fernando Palomo, Steve Cangialosi, Ross Dyer, Kevin Keatings and Jon Driscroll 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. Zabaleta could operate on both sides of the pitch as a full-back and was known for his tenacious style of play, an ...

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

, Stewart Robson, Alex Pareja,

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...

, Janusz Michallik and

. 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 or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...

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

. 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 footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia and amassed 11 ...

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican ...

, 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

ESPN is airing both

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

and Supercopa de España tournaments through 2027.

Other soccer rights acquired by ESPN

* Belgian First Division A * Allsvenskan

Former programming

FIFA World Cup

ESPN held the rights to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

in 1986 and between 1994 and 2014 until

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

, and ABC. ABC 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 (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

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 American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, as well as four playoff games. The

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

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. Commentary career Soccer In the 1 ...

, Bob Kurtz, Bob Ley, and Bob Carpenter on play-by-play with

Ty Keough William “Ty” Keough (born December 19, 1956 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former U.S. 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 1979 and 1980. He ...

, Seamus Malin, and

Shep Messing Shep Norman Messing (born October 9, 1949) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper and current broadcaster who works as the lead analyst for New York Red Bulls matches on the MSG Network. In 2021 he took the position of chairman of the Major Arena ...

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 () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

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 (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

between 1995 and 2009. Lead commentary team was Derek Rae and

Tommy Smyth Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

with the

team being

and

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

. The pre-match programme was hosted by

Andrew Orsatti Andrew Orsatti (born 23 April 1975 in Sydney, Australia) is the Communications Director and Spokesman for football's international players' union FIFPro. Before his present role, Orsatti worked as a sports journalist and football commentator for ...

Premier League

formerly aired matches from the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

between 1996 and 1998, and the from 2010 to 2013. From 2010 to 2013,

had its own commentary team live in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and Steve McManaman called the action live in England, with

Darrell Currie Darrell Currie (born 1982) is a Scottish television presenter and journalist. He is currently a presenter and touchline reporter for BT Sport, where he covers English and Scottish football. He also is part of the ESPN football coverage team. ...

, 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 a ...

reporting pitchside. On occasion, the network would simulcast

ESPN UK BT Sport 4 is a British sports television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA and the BT Group. It is part of the BT Sport group of channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is predominantly focused on sports from North America. ...

's coverage with full studio coverage from host Ray Stubbs or

Rebecca Lowe Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

and commentary from Jon Champion and Chris Waddle. In the U.S., ESPN's studio team was host

or Georgie Bingham with analyst

Serie A

In 2018, ESPN won the rights for Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

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 ESPN+. There is also a weekly preview and highlight show on ESPN+. 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 organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Janusz Michallik works as the secondary game analyst. Commentary for matches on ESPN+ 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. He ...

, Mina Rzouki, and

James Horncastle James Horncastle is an English sportswriter and a broadcaster. Specialising in European and Italian football, Horncastle frequently covers football for BT Sport. Horncastle speaks fluent Italian having formerly lived in Rome. Horncastle started ...

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

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, beginning from Round of 16 through two-leg semifinals on ESPN+. Meanwhile, the Coppa Italia Final and the Supercoppa Italiana will air on

, or

also on

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

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

picked up the rights.

Scottish Professional Football League

ESPN acquires the rights of the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

started in October 2020. Every week, at least one match is airing on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. In addition, ESPN will also have coverage of select matches from the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay 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 existen ...

and Scottish Challenge Cup. Mark Donaldson and

Steve Nicol ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

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 a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

qualifying competitions, and

friendlies. These matches were on all

owned channels. These rights moved to

after summer 2022.

USMNT/USWNT

/ ABC have shared the rights for

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

and

USWNT The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, a ...

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 an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, he came up through the German club system and represe ...

, and Herculez Gomez. 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

Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. ...

in 2022.

MLS

ESPN has aired

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

matches on ABC,

, ESPN+ and

from the league's beginning in 1996 until 2022. ABC 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 ESPN+.

and

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

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

after 2022 and ESPN did not renew MLS rights.

Leagues Cup

ESPN annually aired the

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league. The first edition was a single-eliminati ...

, a interleague competition between all clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX on

and ESPN+. When

launched MLS Season Pass on

, all Leagues Cup matches moved there.

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 ABC 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 introd ...

1982 World Cup

Coverage was led by Bob Ley 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. (See List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

1986 World Cup

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

. Remaining matches were called by the World Feed. (See List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

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 ...

marked the return of the World Cup on

and ABC and the first time they used their own commentary teams for all matches. Roger Twibell, 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 (born February 26, 1956) is a sports commentator who worked with MSG Network, ABC, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and USA Network. He most recently did pre-game and post-game shows for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well a ...

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 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. He broadcast his 2,00 ...

, 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. Born in Dagenham, E ...

Peter Vermes Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head c ...

, Ron Newman, and Bill McDermott.

was the studio host alongside studio analyst

Desmond Armstrong Desmond Kevin Armstrong (born November 2, 1964) is an American former soccer defender and midfielder, who was a member of the United States national team from 1987 to 1994. He played three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, part of o ...

only for games on ABC. (See List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

1998 World Cup

Bob Ley and Seamus Malin was the lead broadcast team with four other broadcast teams include: Roger Twibell and Mike Hill, JP Dellacamera and Bill McDermott, Derek Rae and

, and Phil Schoen and Tommy Smyth. Brent Musburger and Eric Wynalda worked in the studio for ABC while Phil Schoen and Dave Revsine hosted "''World Cup2Night''" on ESPN2 with analysts Julie Foudy, Keough, Smyth, and Jim St. Andre. (See List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

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, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and Japan. 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. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...

were: JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth, Glenn Davis and

, and Mike Hill and Seamus Malin. Terry Gannon hosted in the studio alongside studio analysts Eric Wynalda and

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...

. (See List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

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 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 retiring ...

worked as the lead broadcast team in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with other broadcast teams: JP Dellacamera and

John Harkes John Andrew Harkes (born March 8, 1967) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who is the head coach of Greenville Triumph SC. A member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Harkes was the first American ever to play in the ...

, Glenn Davis and

, Adrian Healey and Tommy Smyth, and Rob Stone and

Robin Fraser Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest r ...

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

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

, and Dave Revsine. Studio analysts in the studio were:

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...

, Eric Wynalda, 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 List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters)

2010 World Cup

's coverage of the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

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. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Chris Fowler Chris Fowler (born ) 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'', which he h ...

and Mike Tirico were the lead hosts in a studio set right outside of

Soccer City First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium ( af, ENB-stadion), also known as Soccer City ( af, Sokkerstad) and The Calabash, is an association football (soccer) and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Joha ...

, who called

games, worked with

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

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 footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...

, 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 football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...

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

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...

, 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 ra ...

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

Jeremy Schaap Jeremy Schaap is an American sportswriter, television reporter, and author. Schaap is an eleven-time Emmy Awards winner for his work on ESPN's '' E:60'', ''SportsCenter'', and ''Outside the Lines''. Biography He is a regular contributor to ...

(USA and Final), Julie Foudy, Allen Hopkins, Rob Stone,

Selema Masekela Selema "Sal" Mabena Masekela (born August 28, 1971) is an American television host, sports commentator, actor and singer. Life and career Masekela was born in Los Angeles, the son of a Haitian mother and South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. ...

, Andrew Orsatti (Australia), John Sutcliffe (Mexico), and Dan Williams (South Africa).

2014 World Cup

The 2014 World Cup marked the end of the

on ABC 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 and television director. Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he directed over 31 feat ...

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

, Roberto Martínez, Kasey Keller, and

. All commentators were in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. Mike Tirico 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 BT Sport. Broadcasting career Radio Hipgrave's initial break came on Manchester radio station Galaxy 102 where she p ...

with analysts: Alexi Lalas, McManaman,

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...

, Moreno, Keller,

Gilberto Silva Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (; born 7 October 1976) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder most notably for English Premier League club Arsenal, Super League club Panathinaikos F.C., Clube Atlé ...

, Santiago Solari, Martínez, Twellman, and

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

. 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. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...

, 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 Steve McManaman were the lead commentary team for

. Other broadcast teams were:

and

and Derek Rae and

. The studio team was based at headquarters in Bristol. Studio hosts were Bob Ley, 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 BT Sport. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...

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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

are the reporters.

Euro 2016

was live in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

with a set on the

River Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. Mike Tirico, Steve Bower, 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 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, the B ...

, and

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

. Studio analysts were: Craig Burley, Santiago Solari,

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester Ci ...

, who missed that tournament with a serious injury, Julie Foudy, Roberto Martínez, Frank Leboeuf, Michael Ballack, and Kasey Keller.

, Marty Smith, and Alison Bender were reporters.

Euro 2020

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

is broadcast live by ABC (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) is a Scottish presenter, currently working for Sky Sports, Radio 5 Live, and ESPN. Early life Born in Glasgow, Kelly is the eldest of four children of former Celtic and Liverpool player and manager Sir Kenny Dalgl ...

, Sebastian Salazar, Kay Murray, and Dalen Cuff.

and Stewart Robson are the lead broadcast team, being based at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit ...

, Julie Foudy, Tim Howard,

Sami Khedira Sami Khedira (; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid in 2010. In his five seasons i ...

, Frank Leboeuf, Chris Coleman, Nedum Onuoha, Kasey Keller,

Christian Fuchs Christian Fuchs (; born 7 April 1986) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a left back. He began his senior career as a teenager at Wiener Neustadt before signing his first professional contract at 17 with SV Mattersburg ...

, Luis García, and Craig Burley. Former referee

Mark Clattenburg Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975) is an English professional football referee. Clattenburg is a former member of the Premier League and the Durham County Football Association and also a former FIFA referee. He has refereed a number of nota ...

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

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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

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

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

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. 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 television series 1990s American television series 2000s American television series 2010s American television series 2020s American television series