(29 May 2006 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: As the football World Cup draws nearer, the Fifa fever is spreading to the news channels as well. Zee News will be telecasting special programmes on the coverage of the 2006 Fifa World Cup, titled Duniya Hai Goal.

Preceding the start of the World Cup on 9 June, Duniya Hai Goal will commence as a half an hour special programme from 30 May at 7:30 pm until the finale on 9 July. In keeping with the channels focus to extensively cover the event, two teams of correspondents from Zee News will cover the event in Germany.

A segment on the day's play will be broadcast during the 6 - 7 am, 11 - 12 noon, 12 noon - 1 pm, 5 - 6 pm and 10 - 11 pm bulletins.

Besides coverage of the tournament, the bulletin also seeks to incorporate viewer interactivity. As part of this special, score bugs will run and trivia will cover the main information around Fifa this year. Zee News has also made way for debates, discussions and expert comments from big names in the game.

Programs like Zee Team Player will select the best player of the day on the basis of performance, which will be announced at 7:30 pm during the bulletin. In addition, a Zee World Cup Team consisting of the Top 15 players across the contesting teams will be selected and rated as per their performance during the matches.

Other programs such as Which Team Would Win, will choose a favourite team through the interactive involvement of viewers on the basis of the SMSs received. The channel will include a profile of top teams and players on the Countdown and will also telecast features on the stadium, encompassing every aspect of the World Cup.