In a mutually agreed upon move, ESPN and longtime World Cup broadcaster Martin Tyler will part ways prior to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the network announced Wednesday. In a related move, ESPN named Ian Darke lead play-by-play man for the upcoming Cup.

“Following the World Cup 2010, Ian Darke made a long-term commitment to ESPN. That commitment deserves to be rewarded by Ian being the lead commentator at World Cup 2014,” Tyler said in a statement. “With that in mind, it was only right and proper for me to offer to stand down from ESPN’s broadcast of the tournament.”

Darke has been ESPN’s lead international soccer voice since 2010. He will call the opening match June 12 between Brazil and Croatia as well as the World Cup final and all U.S. National Team matches.

He’s no stranger to voicing some of the biggest moments in international soccer. Darke broadcast the 2011 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal between the U.S. and Brazil (tied by Abby Wambach on a header in extra time and won on penalty kicks) as well as the final moments of the 2011-12 English Premiere League season.

“Since Ian emerged as our year-round signature voice for soccer, his commentary has elevated our presentation of the sport to new heights,” said Jed Drake, ESPN senior VP and executive producer.

Darke also contributes to ESPN FC and covers the Barclay’s Premiere League and other European leagues for BT Sport.

Tyler joined ESPN in 2009 and served as lead English-language commentator for the 2010 Cup. He broadcast 18 of the 64 matches, including the World Cup opener, finale and all of England’s matches. Tyler requested his release in order to work with other FIFA media partners during the tournament, according to ESPN.

Tyler has called matches in every World Cup since 1978 and is still the lead soccer voice for Sky Sports in the U.K. Prior to joining ESPN for the 2010 Cup, he served as lead broadcaster for SBS (Australia) for the previous five tournaments. His work in 2010 helped ESPN to garner three Sports Emmy awards for its coverage of the month-long tournament.

“We truly thank Martin for his immense contribution to the overall success of the our 2010 FIFA World Cup presentation,” Drake said. “He played a vital role as part of a brilliant team of commentators, pundits and producers, who made the World Cup experience memorable for U.S. fans.”

Brief Take: The whole world will be watching the World Cup in Brazil, and ESPN is assembling its top talent to cover the event.

Image courtesy of WorldSoccerTalk.com

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