ESPN will present live coverage of David Beckham's Major League Soccer debut as the Los Angeles Galaxy host Chelsea F.C. of the English Premier League in an international club contest at The Home Depot Center just a few miles north of Disneyland. ESPN lucked in to this one. They picked up MLS because of its affordable rights fees which are a bargain compared to big sports like baseball and football. ESPN also did not want to lose ground to Fox's Soccers Channel, which also airs MLS games. When ESPN negotiated the rights package in August of last year, they did not know that Mr. Beckham was going to be in the states which definatley has drawn some attention to the sport.
Speaking of soccer, did you know that Soccernet, which Disney acquried a controlling interest in 1999 is the most popular soccer site in the world with over 100 million page views a month? Also Disney recently reached a deal with Chelsea F.C., the team the Galaxy is playing tonight, to be the official soccer club of The Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
Who knew soccer would be playing such a big role at Disney