If you’re a fan of football (of the soccer variety for those in the US), then you are likely a big fan of the World Cup. It’s my very favorite sporting event, as it showcases the greatest teams and players from all around the world. ESPN 2010 World Cup is an app that is set to help fans like me follow next year’s spectacular event, starting now (or actually a few days back, when it hit the App Store).
It’s even got a countdown timer right as you open the app, so you can watch those days and hours tick down until it’s time to be in a pub singing ‘En-ga-land, En-ga-land, En-ga-land’ at the top of your lungs. Or you may be singing for someone else while I’m losing my voice for England 
Here are some of the key features of ESPN 2010 World Cup:
- Exclusive breaking news and analysis from ESPN and ESPNsoccernet
- Extensive profiles of all 32 countries and he world’s top footballers
- Full tournament schedule of matches and Group profiles
- Personalization – select your favoite teams and show your support with ESPN conversations
- World Cup tournament history dating back to 1930
- Profiles of the South African venues and cities
- Fantasy Bracket Predictor
And a few that are coming soon:
- World Cup alerts
- Fan Photo Gallery
- Live scores and ESPN Gamecast
The truth is, I didn’t start out thinking I would like this app much – as I really don’t consider ESPN a leading source of soccer news, by any stretch. For now though it’s the only game in town, or the only good looking one that I’ve seen covering the 2010 World Cup so far – so I had to give it a shot.
Happily, the app is pretty darn good, and has been a pleasant surprise. Some of the things I like:
It’s got a good amount of general news coverage, covering all the nations and players involved.
It has a great history section, with a recap of every World Cup since they started in 1930 – and each one is very complete, offering an overview of the tournament that year, the winners, controversies, notable teams that were absent, surprises, stats, the Golden Boot winner, and more. Very good stuff – and a good section to visit for a walk down memory lane for past past tournaments you’ve watched.
All the groups information, and schedule details you want are included. You can start marking your calendar now for when your favorite team or teams are playing – and begin sweating over who they’re matched up against.
Of course, I love the ability to ‘personalize’ and choose your favorite team/s – so it’s easy to jump straight to news on the England squad when I get into the app.
And checking out the current squad pics and profiles is nice too.
So this app is considerably better than I thought it would be. It’s a solid offering and a good one to have if you’re keen to start following the 2010 World Cup right now. I do still hope, and expect, that we’ll see quite a lot of other World Cup apps as the event gets closer – and I’ll certainly be on the lookout for apps from the BBC or similar sort of sources.
You can find ESPN 2010 World Cup in the App Store now, and it is a free app.
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Not available in Uk
Jeez – sorry to hear that. Hope it gets there soon, or that one from the BBC or one of the UK papers comes out quickly.
Have you guys seen this one?
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-world-cup/id34...
Got good reviews and is in UK App Store
Hmmm – took a quick look at its App Store page – but I'm more inclined to want to see apps from known sources, like the BBC or other leading European titles.
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