NEW YORK – ESPN has hired former Newcastle, West Ham, Reading, Portsmouth and Dallas goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop to the broadcast teams of ESPN Soccernet Press Pass and SportsCenter. He will provide expert commentary and analysis to both programs on a regular basis.
In total, Hislop played almost 400 games in his career, the vast majority in the Premier League. He played for West Ham in two separate spells and also played under Manager Harry Redknapp twice. He retired from football, aged 38, in August last year, after spending a season with Dallas FC in the MLS.
Hislop was one of a only a few players who, because of his dual nationality, played for England before going on to represent and captain his native Trinidad and Tobago, including at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. During the tournament he aided England’s progress through the group stages by keeping a brilliant clean sheet against their major group rivals Sweden.
Shaka Hislop
“I am excited to be joining ESPN, the undisputed leader in sports broadcasting. Given my career at club and international level I think it is a great move for me and a fantastic opportunity and I am looking forward to it. After 15 years in the game as a player you are sometimes tempted to think you have seen it all. I think there are a lot of things I can bring to the viewers with my playing experience and I look forward to sharing that with others.”
In the Caribbean, Hislop’s commentary will appear on SportsCenter and Press Pass, ESPN original English-language programs also distributed in Africa, Middle East and the Pacific Rim. They will also be available in the UK on ESPNsoccernet.com.
Both programs are produced in ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, where the latest in digital technology and new media distribution occurs. The ESPN and ESPN2 television networks are distributed throughout the English-speaking Caribbean via major pay TV systems and cruise lines.
