Who is Ian Darke? (Wiki, Age, Career, Wife, Children, Net worth)

Ian Darke is an English association football and boxing commentator currently working for ESPN and BT Sport. Darke rose to fame after being part of Fox Sports’ slate of broadcasters for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a supporting role.

So, who is Ian Darke? When did he start his professional career? To know more about him, scroll through the article till the end.

Ian Darke’s Wiki, Bio, and Age

In 1954, Ian was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. He was raised as a Christian alongside his siblings, whose identities are also not available on the internet yet.

He is 70 years old and holds British citizenship.

Even though Ian has been in the public eye for a long time, there are so many things people don’t know about him. Read the article to know in detail.

Ian Darke’s Professional Career

Before joining Sky Sports to commentate on the FA Premier League, Darke covered boxing, athletics, and football for almost ten years on BBC Radio.

He served as Ford Monday Night Football’s primary analyst and was Martin Tyler’s assistant.

Rob Hawthorne took over Darke’s position as the boxing analyst for Monday Night Football as Sky’s coverage of the sport grew to the point that it nearly no longer showed on terrestrial television.

He provided commentary for the fight between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson II.

It was eventually remembered for being the one in which Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield’s ear.

Nearly ten years later, Sky’s boxing output was drastically reduced after boxing promoter Frank Warren moved his fighters to ITV.

This allowed Darke to return to “live” football, despite the fact that he had previously commented on games for an international audience and been heard on Sky covering some Champions League matches.

Darke commentated on matches such as the 2005 Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool.

Darke enjoyed a prolific Sky Sports career with commentaries for various events to maintain his boxing commitments.

As a match commentator for the English Premier League, Darke joined the BT Sport staff. Additionally, he was audible on the Premier League global broadcast.

Darke was one of the pundits for Prime Video’s coverage of the UK Premier League. He teamed up with Craig Burley, a fellow ESPN employee.

Ian is also a part of ESPN

In 2010, as the English-language analyst for ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup for the American market, Darke became well-known to the American public.

Despite starting the 2010–11 Premier League season with Sky in the UK, Darke received a three–year deal to become the voice of the league for ESPN in the United States. He took up the offer.

Darke later expanded his duties to commentate on MLS games, where he was their lead commentator and was in the final.

He paired with Julie Foudy to lead ESPN’s coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

He also commentated on another American tournament-saving goal before teaming with Taylor Twellman and Steve McManaman for the 2014’s World Cup final between Germany and Argentina.

As the primary La Liga analyst alongside his longtime broadcast partner Steve McManaman, Darke made a more sustained comeback to ESPN.

The American Outlaws have a chant that goes, “Ian Darke, you are a Yank,” and the Men in Blazers (Michael Davies and Roger Bennett) have dubbed Darke “Sir Ian Darke” as a result of his enthusiastic commentary for Major League Soccer and the US Men’s and Women’s National Teams.

Ian Darke’s Life Partner and Children?

Darke is in a happy marriage with his wife. He has managed to keep his personal life a secret. That’s why we have no information regarding his marital status.

His wife’s name is a mystery. Likewise, the couple has two children, both of them are daughters.

Their daughters are named Erin Darke and Kathy Darke.

Erin is an actress and is currently involved in theatres. Likewise, their other daughter Kathy is involved in Sports just like her father.

Moreover, Kathy participated in the 2018 London Marathon.

How rich is Ian Darke?

As an English commentator, Ian has accumulated a total net worth of $5 million as of 2024. His major source of income is his commentary profession, brand endorsement, sponsorships, etc.

Likewise, Darke receives a sum of $200,000 annually as an employee of ESPN and BT sports.

However, the average salary of a broadcast analyst in the UK is $72 K annually. Ian has been earning a good paycheck from his broadcasting job.

Ian Darke’s Social Media

Even though Ian has been in the public eye for a very long time, he is not active on social media platforms.

He does not use Facebook or Instagram. But he uses Twitter and LinkedIn.

You can find him on Twitter as @IanDarke. He has over 158.8 K followers on it and follows over 842 different accounts.

He is already verified as a celebrity on Twitter, and his Twitter bio says, “Ian Darke, football commentator for ESPN in America and for BT Sport in the UK.”

Likewise, you can find him on LinkedIn as @Ian Darke. He has over 75 connections and 78 followers.

Some facts about Ian Darke

• Ian’s daughter Erin is happily engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Harry Poter star Daniel Radcliffe.
• Port Vale F.C. was one of the worst spots to remark from, according to Darke, who made this statement on the Men in Blazers podcast on Grantland.
• He remembered using the roof of the stand to call a game at Vale Park during a downpour. Darke compared it to “being on a ship’s deck in the middle of the Atlantic.”
• In the past, Martin Tyler, Alan Parry, and Rob Hawthorne were the “Big Four” football pundits for Sky. Darke was one of them.
• Along with Jim Watt, he also served as Sky’s primary boxing analyst and covered some of the biggest matches involving British boxers.

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