ESPN in the UK

 ESPN to broadcast two live fixtures, as Cambridge City face Milton Keynes Dons and Dorchester Town take on Plymouth Argyle

ESPN will kick off its live televised coverage of the FA Cup First Round proper with two exclusively live games on the first weekend of November. The action starts on Friday 2^nd November with Cambridge City v Milton Keynes Dons at 7pm, and is followed on Sunday 4^th November by Plymouth Argyle’s visit to Dorchester Town at 4pm.

ESPN will bring viewers the opening game of the first round as Southern League Premier Division side Cambridge City welcome League One outfit Milton Keynes Dons. Karl Robinson’s MK Dons will be looking to avoid an early giantkilling as they face a semi-professional side four leagues below them.  The Dons have been on a run of indifferent form recently, with only one win in the last six, however, they currently sit just outside the playoff places and boast the meanest defence in the league. Their opponents Cambridge City will be hoping for a repeat of the 2004-05 season, which saw them reach the second round, where coincidentally, they were knocked out by MK Dons. City are in 15^th place in the league and will be looking to star striker Craig Hammond – one of the leading goalscorers in the division – to fire them to an upset here.

Sunday afternoon brings Dorchester Town v Plymouth Argyle live on ESPN in a clash between two Westcountry neighbours. Conference South side Dorchester boast an impressive home record – five wins out of five – that they will hope will count in their favour as League Two Plymouth come to the Avenue Stadium. Dorchester are in the playoff places in the league and have reached as far as the second round of the FA Cup several times in their history. Plymouth narrowly avoided relegation out of the Football League last season, following a period in administration, but have recently hit a run of good form – their three league wins in a row have included a 4-1 demolition of Edgar Davids’ Barnet. They will look to the 1983-84 season for inspiration, when they reached the FA Cup Semi-Final, while they went as far as the Sixth Round in 2006-07.

Simon Potter, senior director, programming, ESPN, said: “We’re excited to bring fans some great fixtures from the First Round of the FA Cup. This is the true grassroots of football in England – both games have great potential for an upset and the stakes are high with bigger clubs waiting in the third round. It’s set to be the start of another great year of the FA Cup on ESPN.”

ESPN will broadcast 25 live and exclusive FA Cup matches this season, from the First Round through to the Final, ensuring fans won’t miss any of the competition’s unique drama and storylines. As well as selected replays through the tournament, the sports media company will televise two matches in the first two rounds, three matches from the third to fifth rounds, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the FA Cup Final.

ESPN.co.uk, ESPN’s news and information portal, will offer football fans in the UK online coverage of the FA Cup including special features. ESPNFC.com, ESPN’s new multi-platform, multi-language and multi-country global football brand, will provide live scores and match reports, plus access to a network of bloggers. Both sites will also offer video highlights of selected FA Cup matches. On mobile, fans can access all of the best content from ESPN.co.uk via the mobile web, and, from ESPNFC.com via a dedicated mobile app.