Announcer Ian Darke to make Fox return for 2026 World Cup: Source

One of the most iconic voices in global soccer is returning to Fox for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Veteran World Cup broadcaster Ian Darke will join Fox Sports as a play-by-play broadcaster during its coverage of the 2026 World Cup, an industry source briefed on Fox’s plans told The Athletic.

Darke currently calls La Liga games for ESPN in the United States. He also calls Premier League games on a freelance basis in the United Kingdom.

The assignment would be Darke’s ninth World Cup as an announcer. He worked for ABC and ESPN during the men’s World Cups in 1994, 2010 and 2014, as well as the Women’s World Cup in 2011. He later called the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the world feed, and ESPN loaned him to Fox for the 2022 tournament. Darke’s first World Cup assignment was in 1982 for BBC Radio. He also announced one for Australian television (SBS) in 1998.

“I love the World Cup, and I think any soccer commentator would be lying to you if they said they didn’t want to do the World Cup regardless of the controversial venue. By hook or by crook, I have managed to get assigned,” Darke told The Athletic in 2022 upon getting the World Cup assignment from Fox.

Fox declined to comment.

Darke was famously on the call in 2010 when Landon Donovan’s 91st-minute goal sent the United States past Algeria and into the knockout stage. He and Donovan worked together at Fox for the 2022 World Cup as well as for coverage of the 2024 European Championship.

The World Cup draw is currently scheduled to take place on Dec. 5 at The Kennedy Center, the performing arts and events space in D.C. The 2026 World Cup, which will be played across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, begins on June 11.

(Photo: Kim Klement / Imagn Images)