Ian Darke joins FOX World Cup coverage for Qatar 2022

Ian Darke, one of soccer’s best known commentators in the United States, is set to be a part of the FOX World Cup coverage. Currently, Darke works as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN.

FOX holds the rights to World Cup 2022, as they started doing so in 2018. Therefore, Darke was not part of the U.S.-based crew covering Russia 2018. He did, however, call games for the world feed, so he is certainly up to date in that regard.

ESPN allowed Darke to make the monthlong trek over to FOX for coverage come November and December.

Ian Darke is not the lead play-by-play voice for the FOX World Cup coverage in Qatar. That honor still lies with John Strong and his co-commentator Stu Holden. Instead, Darke joins other new commentators to FOX, such as Jacqui Oatley, in bringing familiar voices to American households.

What Ian Darke brings to FOX World Cup coverage

Few commentators in the world possess as much experience and expertise as Ian Darke. Starting with the World Cup, Qatar 2022 is Darke’s eighth World Cup as a play-by-play voice. His first tournaments came back in 1982 and 1990. Then, he worked with BBC Radio and Eurosport.

More famously, at least for American fans of the game, Darke called both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups with ESPN. As the lead play-by-play voice in ESPN’s coverage, he was the voice behind some of the nation’s most-famous moments. For example, Landon Donovan’s late goal against Algeria in 2010 yielded the “Go, go! USA! Certainly through” call that gives Americans goosebumps. Also, he called John Brooks’s late winner against Ghana four years later.

Outside of the international game, Ian Darke is the lead voice for BT Sport’s coverage of the Premier League and other major European fixtures. This often includes the UEFA Champions League.

The full roster for FOX’s World Cup coverage for studio crews and play-by-play teams will be unveiled in the coming weeks. The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off on November 21.

PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

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