The Good
- Free
- Live audio for World Cup matches (for a price)
- Lots of news and player profiles
The Bad
- Contains ads
- No video
The 2010 World Cup is just around the corner, so now’s the time to download the best World Cup apps to your iPhone. One of the most popular options for the upcoming tournament is ESPN’s 2010 FIFA World Cup app, which includes soccer news, player profiles, and live audio.
Listen live to the 2010 World Cup
The bulk of the ESPN World Cup app revolves around news and statistics for each of the 32 teams competing. Under the Teams tab, you can navigate through each country’s individual page, where ESPN provides a quick snapshot of their experience levels, historical World Cup standings, and news. Player profiles with pictures and the team’s upcoming schedule are also included. I also like that the World Cup app shows the jersey for each team -- good info to know before the games start!
The news section is updated pretty frequently, with at least one new article posted each day for every team. The app also includes a profile for each of the World Cup venues, a tournament history, and a bracket tab that helps you predict the outcome of each match. There’s a countdown clock on the homepage, so you’ll always know how long until the tournament starts -- down to the second.
ESPN’s Soccer Power Index is another neat feature. It’s basically a ranking of the top 100 teams, which will come in handy when you fill out your bracket predictor. ESPN’s soccer rankings differ slightly from those used by FIFA, but you can view both rankings within the app.
Once the World Cup gets underway, the ESPN app will include live audio streams of each match and score alerts. It would be nice if there was video offered as well. The World Cup iPhone app includes ads, but they’re limited to the bottom of the screen and I didn’t find them very distracting.
Update: Since the World Cup began, ESPN has changed the app description and is now charging a one-time fee of $7.99 to listen to live World Cup audio.
The Bottom Line
The ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup app is a must-download for serious soccer fans. It includes a good amount of information for a free app, and the live audio streams will be great to have once the tournament starts. Since the app first launched, ESPN has decided to charge $7.99 (via a one-time in-app purchase) for live audio coverage of World Cup games, but it's still a pretty good deal. Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5.
What You'll Need
The ESPN World Cup app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.