ESPN FC
 | |
| Owner | ESPN |
|---|---|
| Website | http://espnfc.com/ |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 1995 as SoccerNet |
| Current status | Active |
ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website owned by ESPN, which covers association football. Originally established in 1995 as SoccerNet, the website was acquired by ESPN in 1999.
History
Originally titled SoccerNet, the website was established by Greg Hadfield and his then-teenage son Tom in 1995, initially providing live score updates, tables and news articles. Greg, at that time, worked for the Daily Mail and in order to gain capital, effectively rescinded ownership of the site to his bosses in return for £40,000 and a revenue sharing scheme.[1]
In 1999, Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG) acquired a controlling interest of 60 percent in SoccerNet from the Daily Mail and General Trust for £15M.
Television program
ESPN eventually launched a U.S. television studio program on ESPNews and ESPN2 dedicated to football, also known as ESPN FC. The program airs on weekday evenings, and a weekly recap show airs on Sunday nights. The program is normally hosted by Dan Thomas. Regular contributors include Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop, Alejandro Moreno, Steve Nicol, Paul Mariner, Raphael Honigstein, Gabriele Marcotti, Brian McBride, Taylor Twellman, Ian Darke, Kasey Keller, Frank LeBoeuf, Stewart Robson, Sid Lowe, Julien Laurens, Uli Hesse, Nilton Batata and Santiago Solari.[2]
Controversy
On November 21, 2013, Phil Ball was subject to accusations of propaganda on behalf of Qatar's bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[3] Ball wrote a piece for ESPN FC titled 'Inside Doha: Give Qatar A Chance To Shine'. However, the article was later removed from ESPN's website after negative reaction to Ball's in-article claims that he was "invited on an all-expenses paid trip to see the inner workings." [4] ESPN FC announced in a tweet that they had "carefully re-evaluated ... [their] recent Qatar story and decided to remove it. It did not meet ... [their] journalistic standards. We apologize."[5]
References
- ↑ Fortune Favours the Brave - The Independent
- ↑ "ESPN launches new daily soccer show: ESPNFC on TV". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ↑ Manfred, Tony (2013), "Here's The Glowing Story About The Qatar World Cup That ESPN Doesn't Want You To Read", Business Insider
- ↑ Ball, Phil (2013), "Inside Doha: Give Qatar a chance to shine", ESPNFC, Archived from the original on 2013-11-24
- ↑ ESPNFC, ESPNFC (2013), "Tweet", Twitter