Friday's FIFA World Cup draw ... if you can't find television coverage, well, you really aren't trying very hard

View full size photo »

There was a day when soccer fans could legitimately complain about ESPN's treatment of soccer. Mostly, the sport was relegated to the geeky kids' table -- while the popular and well-sweatered types from the cool kids' table snickered and entertained one another with nasty remarks at their expense.

But that day has come and gone. Yes, it helps that ESPN has about 16 platforms and needs content to fill up all that space.  Still, who can complain about the sports media giant's treatment these days?

To wit, check out the vast coverage ahead for Friday's FIFA draw.

Click forward for the ESPN press release detailing the coverage planned for ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, international networks and other digital outlets.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          

• ESPN2 HD – 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw Presented by adidas (12 – 3 p.m.):  Bob Ley will host with former World Cup stars Efan Ekoku,John Harkes, Alexi Lalas and Steve McManaman providing analysis from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios;
• Jeremy Schaap will provide live reports throughout the day from the Cape Town International Convention Center in South Africa, site of the Draw;
• Additional FIFA World Cup pre- and post-Draw coverage on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, First Take (ESPN2), ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning (simulcast on ESPN2), SportsNation (ESPN2), and more;
• ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language sports network which last week announced it will present up to 40 Portuguese-language World Cup matches live in the U.S. in 2010, will cover the draw with analysis, predictions and post-Draw reactions – a precursor to the network’s "game-around-the-game" approach to the event in 2010, anchored by David Faitelson and 1998 FIFA World Cup winner Mario Kempes in Bristol, with Jose Ramon Fernandez, Daniel Brailovsky, Rafa Puente, Carlos Albert and Ciro Procuna in Mexico City.  John Sutcliffe, Raul Taquini and Dan Williams will report from Cape Town throughout the network’s seven hours of live programming around the Draw;
• For the first time ever, ESPN Radio will broadcast SportsCenter Presents the 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw Show, a 60-minute special (also on ESPNRadio.com) at 4 p.m. with host Doug Brown and featuring ESPN international soccer analyst Tommy Smyth, U.S. Soccer and MLS reporter Allen Hopkins and reporting from Cape Town by Schaap. 

• Live interview with Morgan Freeman, who stars as Nelson Mandela, in the soon-to-be-released movie Invictus, attempting to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unite his people after the fall of apartheid by ESPN X Games and E! network’s Daily 10 host Sal Masekela;
• Schaap’s exclusive interview with U.S. striker Charlie Davies, who was injured in an automobile accident in the outskirts of Washington, D.C., on the eve of the U.S. Team’s last FIFA World Cup qualifying match vs. Costa Rica;
• Interview with David Beckham;
• Features about Soweto, Gumboot dancing and RAGA-BOLO – a South African street soccer tradition;
• ESPN’s World Cup play-by-play commentator Martin Tyler, who has called all World Cups since 1978 will offer insight, live from England;
• U.S. striker Jozy Altidore, currently playing in the Barclays Premier League, will be interviewed;
• Post-Draw interview with U.S. National Men’s Soccer Team manager Bob Bradley from Cape Town;
• Rob Stone will report from New York City’s famed football bar Nevada Smiths. 

• ESPN360.com, the sports broadband network, will feature two channels dedicated to the Draw:  ESPN2’s live coverage, and a live, uninterrupted feed of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Draw from Cape Town;
• ESPN Mobile TV will stream ESPN2’s live coverage of the Draw;
• ESPN.com, ESPNsoccernet.com and ESPNDeportes.com will combine to offer opinion and in-depth analysis from a variety of soccer experts;
• ESPN Mobile will launch 2010 FIFA World Cup Draw applications, kicking off a series of ESPN’s FIFA World Cup branded content.

• ESPN Brazil:  Narrator and presenter João Palomino and Paulo Vinícius Coelho will host a 2-and-1/2-hour live Draw program from São Paulo with reporter André Plihal in Cape Town;
• ESPN Latin American networks will feature Draw-related coverage with reactions, analysis and live video from select countries in the finals.  Highlights of day include special World Cup Draw editions of Camino a Sudafrica, SportsCenter, Fuera de Juego, Juego Cruzadoand Cronometro;
• ESPN International’s popular soccer debate and opinion show, ESPNSoccernet Press Pass, will feature reactions and analysis from past World Cup stars.  The FIFA World Cup Draw special will feature host Adrian Healey with 1998 World Cup winner Frank Lebeouf (France) and Trinidad and Tobago’s 2006 World Cup goalkeeper Shaka Hislop providing analysis from ESPN’s Bristol studios.  Special guests will include ex-England midfielder McManaman, ESPN International soccer analyst Smyth and Andrew Orsatti.  The program will be aired on ESPN UK, in the Pacific Rim, Atlantic, and the Caribbean regions, as well as the Middle East and Israel.  It will also be featured on ESPN360.com in the United States.