Between now and the end of July, EPL Talk will be your headquarters online for World Cup news and coverage. We have so much planned — which I’ve teased on an EPL Talk Podcast episode and in a recent interview — so let me bring you up to speed on what we have in store for YOU:

Daily World Cup podcast

Beginning today, the World Cup Buzz Podcast will bring you daily latest news and analysis of the 2010 World Cup. Hosted by Richard Farley, the podcast will evolve into three different phases. First, between now and May 31, the podcast will feature interviews with some of the biggest pundits in world football. Be sure not to miss a single episode as experts from around the world give you insight into the tournament that you won’t be able to find elsewhere.

Second, from June 1 to June 10, Farley and the co-host team of Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna will preview each group in the tournament. And third, from June 11 til the end of the World Cup tournament, the team of Farley, Krishnaiyer and McKenna will bring you daily news and analysis of the World Cup tournament — 7 days a week!

If you’re already subscribed to the EPL Talk Podcast on iTunes (or the MLS Talk Podcast), you’ll automatically get each episode of the World Cup Buzz delivered to you each day. Otherwise, you can subscribe to the World Cup Buzz Podcast (by itself) via iTunes (a feed will be added in the next 24-48 hours). Or you can get each episode through this web site or via the World Cup Buzz Podcast site. Plus you’ll be able to get each episode from BigSoccer.com — as part of our partnership with them as the first soccer podcast on their BigSoccer Radio Network.

What will happen to the EPL Talk Podcast and MLS Talk Podcast during the World Cup tournament? There are no specific plans to release new episodes since we’ll be up to our eyeballs in World Cup coverage. But from time to time when massive interview opportunities present themselves or when big news breaks, we’ll release special EPL Talk and MLS Talk Podcast episodes during the June 11-July 12 tournament.

In addition to the World Cup Buzz Podcast, here’s a preview of the other World Cup coverage we’ll be providing you:

Daily World Cup news and analysis

In addition to the daily World Cup Buzz Podcast, we’ll be bringing you daily news and analysis in the form of articles on this site — and other sites within the EPL Talk Network. It’s our goal to provide you with the quality analysis and coverage that you’ve been accustomed to reading. As well as covering the storylines and news, we’ll be particularly paying close attention to the TV coverage of the 2010 World Cup and we’ll be analyzing that for you, as well as writing informational articles on how you can get the best 2010 World Cup experience.

The news and analysis won’t exist just on EPL Talk. You’ll be able to find more specific coverage on our sister sites, too.

World Cup 2010 links:

2010 World Cup coverage on sister sites:

iPhone app

Download the FREE EPL Talk iPhone app so no matter where you are this summer, you’ll have immediate access to the latest blog posts, comments and World Cup Buzz Podcast episodes. Download the EPL Talk iPhone app today.

World Cup Fantasy Challenge

Register today for the World Cup 2010 Fantasy Challenge which is free to register and you have the opportunity to win big cash prizes.

The concept is simple. Pick your best 11 from the 32 competing teams and see how they do in the 2010 World Cup. And then enter a public league so you can compete against 11 soccer fans from around the world. Thankfully this is one of those competitions where you can pick and choose any players for your eleven rather than limiting yourself to certain players to fit into a certain budget.

World Cup Predictor

The World Cup is about to start and we at EPL Talk Predictor want to help build up the excitement and offer you the opportunity to win big prizes.  All in all, during WC2010, we will be giving away £700 in total prizes sponsored by online gaming site Paddy Power.

In addition to the usual 1X2 Competition, featuring each and every match of the WC2010, there will be a total of 8 Mega Matches on select tourney matches and a season ending Raffle for all members who achieved a “Predictor” level and higher (predicting the opening WC2010 match is required to participate in the raffle).

But kicking off the festivities will be our newest game, the Predictor Challenge. For obvious reasons, the first Predictor Challenge, kicking off 2 weeks prior to the World Cup, will only feature WC2010 related content. Next season, this new game will also take place before the start of the Premier League season, Championship League group stage, and other tournaments or league competitions.

So if you think that Messi will be the top goal scorer, Brazil will win the Cup, and Ivory Coast will make it to the quarterfinals, now is your time to test your knowledge. Visit us on May 23rd and join the game for your chance to win!

Free World Cup eBook

If you haven’t picked up your free copy of the eBook, What The World Cup Means To Me, featuring contributions from Simon Kuper, Tim Vickery, Rebecca Lowe and others, get your copy today.

Social Media

To stay on top of the latest World Cup news, you can follow EPL Talk and World Cup Buzz on Twitter, and like World Cup Buzz and EPL Talk on Facebook.

And much more

We have several other exciting plans for our World Cup coverage which we’ll be announcing in the next few weeks. If you’re interested in contributing articles to EPL Talk, be sure to read our Get Published page.