Catch the FIFA World Player Gala 2008 Live & Exclusive on ESPN

Media News

New Delhi, January 09, 2009

ESPN STAR Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, is all set to showcase the biggest football spectacle for the year that has gone by. Presenting ‘FIFA World Player Gala 2008’, Live from Zurich on your television sets exclusively on 13th January, 2009 at 00:30 hrs. A special repeat of the telecast will be broadcast at 2100 hours (IST). The Razzmatazz will be attended by the glitterati from the football world and will be shown live and exclusive only on ESPN in India.

The Awards shall see participation of five men and five women footballers as opposed to three players from each category as seen in the previous years. Taking pride of place on the red carpet will be the nominees in the men's category: Kaká (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Fernando Torres (Spain), and Xavi (Spain), while Nadine Angerer (Germany), Cristiane (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany) and Kelly Smith (England) will contest the women's award.

The above-mentioned nominees were confirmed after a poll in which the coaches and captains of men's and women's national teams from around the world cast their votes on the basis of a list of men's and women's candidates drawn up by FIFA. In addition, the customary FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award will be presented.

Catch the World Player Gala 2008 only on ESPN at 00:30 hrs on January 13, 2009. The repeat of the same will be telecast at 21:00 hrs on January 13, 2009.

For further information, please contact:

ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd

Nancy Agnihotri

Asst. Manager - Corporate Communications

E-mail: nancya@espnstar.co.in

Mobile: 98107 68588

IPAN

Subhashish Bharuka

E-mail: subhashish.bharuka@ipan.com

Mobile: 98101 22833