MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox has announced that its soccer channel Fox Sports World will be renamed Fox Soccer Channel on 7 February 2005.

Fox Soccer Channel will draw more than 80 per cent of its first-run programming hours from world-class soccer competitions. They include the Barclays English Premier League, the English FA Cup, the Uefa Cup, the Toyota Intercontinental Cup. Other events that will air will include World Cup qualifying matches for the US and England national teams, the Champions World Series, and numerous European and Latin American national leagues.

Fox Soccer Channel executive VP and GM David Sternberg said, "Soccer has long been the world's game and now it is increasingly America's game as well. Participation rates and attendance at soccer matches, including MLS games and international exhibitions, have grown dramatically in the past decade.

"The US national teams have excelled in both the men's and women's Fifa World Cups. We at Fox are committed to creating the single best place for American soccer fans, players, professional and amateur associations and business partners to converge and share in the phenomenal success of the sport."

The flagship sports channel Fox Sports will provide viewers with an exclusive first look at the Fox Sports Channel during the Super Bowl XXXIX Pre-Game Show on 6 February.

Fox Soccer Channel will introduce several new programmes and features, including a soccer scores ticker. A new weekly show debuting in April Fox Soccer USA will focus on the youth and the amateur soccer scene in the US.