Ian Darke (born 1954) is an English association football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN and TNT Sports.
Darke was previously one of Sky's "Big Four" football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne.
Darke worked for nearly ten years on BBC Radio covering boxing, athletics and football, before moving to Sky Sports in 1992 to commentate on the newly formed FA Premier League.
Nearly ten years later, after boxing promoter Frank Warren took his fighters to ITV, Sky's boxing output was significantly reduced, freeing up Darke for a return to 'live' football (although he had commentated on matches for an international audience, and had been heard on Sky covering some Champions League matches).
In 2010, Sky did not receive rights to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and Darke was hired to be an ESPN commentator for their coverage of the World Cup for the American market, and he became known to the American public as the English-language commentator for Landon Donovan's last-second goal for the United States against Algeria that allowed the USA to not only advance to the knockout stage, but also win their group.
Darke paired with Julie Foudy to lead ESPN's coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and commentated another American tournament-saving goal – Abby Wambach's last-second header against Brazil in the quarterfinals – before teaming with Taylor Twellman (for Team USA's games) and Steve McManaman (for other games, including those featuring England and the final between Germany and Argentina) during the 2014 World Cup.
[4] Darke returned to ESPN more permanently as the lead La Liga commentator alongside his long time broadcast partner Steve McManaman.
Darke announced on Twitter on July 26, 2022 that he would be joining Fox Sports' slate of broadcasters for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a supporting role, comparing his stint to a loan from ESPN.
[5] Darke and Landon Donovan were named the lead announcing team for UEFA Euro 2024.