ESPN, FOX Soccer, Univision Deportes Network, TSN, Sportsnet and RDS family of networks to air matches
NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES (Tuesday, July 10, 2012) – All 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge matches will be broadcast in the U.S. on ESPN, FOX Soccer, Univision Deportes Network and Univision Radio, while TSN, Sportsnet and RDS will be the event’s broadcast partners in Canada, it was announced today by Major League Soccer (MLS) and CAA Sports.
In the U.S., ESPN networks — ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3 — will televise five matches. ESPN2 will kick off the Herbalife World Football Challenge broadcasts on July 18 live from Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, when three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC host UEFA Champions League winner Chelsea FC.
FOX Soccer will broadcast four Herbalife World Football Challenge games, including the August 5 match in Las Vegas between Spain and Mexico’s current league champions, Real Madrid and Santos Laguna, respectively. For the July 22 match, the FOX Soccer broadcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a special pre-game show. Spanish language network FOX Deportes will air three matches. See below for broadcast times.
Univision Deportes Network, a national MLS broadcast partner, will broadcast one Herbalife World Football Challenge match, the first-ever soccer match at the new Yankee Stadium on July 22 featuring Chelsea FC and France’s Paris Saint-Germain.
In Canada, TSN and RDS, as well as Sportsnet, will be the official broadcast partners of the 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge. TSN and TSN2 will air four matches, including the ever-growing rivalry between the current MLS champion LA Galaxy and La Liga champions Real Madrid on August 2. RDS2 will air the July 22 New York match.
Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific will air the July 21 event at Rogers Centre, when four-time defending Canadian championship winner Toronto FC hosts Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. The complete broadcast schedule is below.
2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge Schedule (all times ET)
Date |
Game | Venue | City | Time (ET) |
Broadcast Partner |
|
| July 18 | Seattle Sounders FC v Chelsea FC | CenturyLink Field | Seattle, WA | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3 | |
| July 21 | Toronto FC v Liverpool FC | Rogers Centre | Toronto, ON | 4:00 p.m. | FS, FD (airing 7/22 at 1:00 pm), Sportsnet | |
| July 22 | Chelsea FC v Paris Saint-Germain | Yankee Stadium | New York, NY | 7:00 p.m. | FS, UDN, TSN, RDS2 | |
| July 28 | Chelsea FC v AC Milan | Sun Life Stadium | Miami, FL | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3 | |
| July 28 | D.C. United v Paris Saint-Germain | RFK Stadium | Washington, D.C. | 7:30 p.m. | FS (delayed airing at 10:00 p.m.), FD (airing 7/29 at 1:00 pm). | |
| Aug. 2 | LA Galaxy v Real Madrid | Home Depot Center | Carson, CA | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3, TSN2 | |
| Aug. 5 | Real Madrid v Santos Laguna | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas, NV | 11:00 p.m. | FS, FD, TSN2 | |
| Aug. 8 | Real Madrid v AC Milan | Yankee Stadium | New York, NY | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3, TSN2 | |
| Aug. 11 | Real Madrid v Celtic FC | Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3 |
Key: ESPND (ESPN Deportes), FS (FOX Soccer), FD (FOX Deportes), Sportsnet (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific), UDN (Univision Deportes Network)
The 2012 Herbalife World Football Challenge currently features 11 teams playing nine matches at eight venues across North America July 18 through August 11. The clubs currently confirmed to participate in the competition include UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea FC, La Liga champion Real Madrid, Scottish Premier League title holder Celtic FC, Mexico’s Primera Division champion Santos Laguna and European powerhouses Liverpool FC, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, as well as Major League Soccer’s (MLS) current champion LA Galaxy, four-time MLS Cup champion D.C. United, three-time defending U.S. Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC, and four-time defending Canadian championship winner Toronto FC.
One of the largest and most successful soccer exhibitions ever staged in North America, the Herbalife World Football Challenge brings together many of the world’s most accomplished and celebrated soccer clubs to play in major sports venues across the region. The event gives soccer fans the unique opportunity to see global superstars play live and experience first-hand the fast-paced, skillful competition that has made soccer the most popular sport in the world. Now in its third year, the Herbalife World Football Challenge is hosted in partnership by CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world’s leading entertainment and sports agency, and Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada.
