FOOTBALL: FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers – Live in June

World Cup qualifying returns for a bumper stretch across June with significant action in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. 

Scotland’s tricky away qualifier against Croatia in Zagreb is live on both BBC Two Scotland and ESPN on June 7, while Sky Sports will screen the Republic of Ireland’s qualifying encounter against the Faroe Islands in Dublin on the same night.

A host of other top international clashes will be shown on ESPN, British Eurosport and Premier Sports, plus UK users can watch a variety of European qualifying matches for FREE via the Qualifiers 2014 YouTube channel, including Portugal v Russia live on this site from 8.45pm.

FOOTBALL: Danny Baker and Danny Kelly reunited for BT Sport football show

Celebrated sports broadcasters Danny Baker and Danny Kelly will reform their on-off broadcasting partnership to front a lively Friday night football show on the new BT Sport channels.

The duo have worked together on similar shows over the past two decades, most famously on BBC Radio 5 Live, and they will be reunited for a live interactive football show entitled ‘Baker and Kelly’s Vaguely Sporting Phone-Out’.

It will run on Friday evenings for 40 weeks throughout the 2013-2014 season on BT Sport, with the first show airing on August 16, the day before the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season kicks off.

FOOTBALL: UEFA Under-21 Championship 2013 – Live on Sky Sports

England’s Under 21s launch their bid to become European champions this summer with Sky Sports again providing extensive live coverage of the UEFA U-21 Championship in Israel.

The biennal eight-team tournament gets underway on Wednesday, June 5, with the final taking place just under three weeks later in Jerusalem, on Tuesday, June 18.

Stuart Pearce’s in-form England side are in Group A along with the host nation, as well as Norway and Italy, while a heavyweight Group B contains holders Spain along with Russia, Netherlands and Germany.

FOOTBALL: Championship Play-Off Final 2013 – Crystal Palace v Watford – Live on Sky Sports

The final lucrative place in the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season will be claimed at Wembley Stadium as Crystal Palace take on Watford on Monday afternoon.

Ian Holloway’s Palace side eased past Brighton 2-0 over two legs in their semi-final and while Gianfranco Zola’s Watford reached Wembley through a thrilling 3-2 aggregate win over Leicester City.

Sky Sports will screen the match, worth a reported £120m to the winner, exclusively live on Monday, May 27, with free-to-air highlights in the evening on BBC One.

FOOTBALL: UEFA Champions League Final 2013 – Dortmund v Bayern – Live on ITV & Sky Sports

Wembley will serve as the battle ground for the last major honours of the season as Bayern Munich go head-to-head with Borussia Dortmund to be crowned 2012/13 UEFA Champions League winners.

This is the first all-German final in the competition’s history and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both head for England’s national stadium purely on merit rather than through any semblance of fluke.

Fans can follow the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final live from Wembley on Saturday, May 25, with host broadcaster ITV providing free-to-air coverage, while Sky Sports will also be covering the final in high-definition and in stunning 3D.

FOOTBALL: Scottish Cup Final 2013 – Hibernian v Celtic – Live on BBC Scotland & Sky Sports

With the SPL title all wrapped up, Celtic look to complete the domestic double as they take on Hibernian in the 2013 William Hill Scottish Cup Final.

Scotland’s showpiece match sees Pat Fenlon’s Hibernian take on Neil Lennon’s side for the oldest national trophy in the world, which was first played for in 1874.

Both BBC One Scotland and Sky Sports will simulcast live coverage of the conclusion to the Scottish football season at Hampden Park on Sunday, May 26.

FOOTBALL: FA Women’s Cup Final 2013 – Arsenal v Bristol Academy – Live on BBC Two

Women’s football’s showpiece match of the season takes place at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium as Arsenal Ladies take on Bristol Academy in the 2013 FA Women’s Cup Final.

This year marks 20 years since the Football Association took over the running of the women’s game and the 2013 final will be staged at the home of Doncaster Rovers Belles, one of women’s football’s most famous clubs, who won the first Women’s Cup under the FA’s auspices in 1994.

The match also returns to terrestrial television for the first time since 2009 as BBC Two and BBC Two HD screens live coverage on Sunday, May 26, signalling the start of an amazing summer of women’s football with the UEFA Women’s Euro 2013 finals following in July.

FOOTBALL: Barclays Premier League 2012/13 – Final day live on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will focus on the race for fourth place on the final day of the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League season on Sunday, May 19.

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur fight for the last remaining qualification spot for next season’s UEFA Champions League as they both face north-east opposition in Newcastle United and Sunderland respectively.

All 10 final day Premier League games kick-off simultaneously at 4.00pm with Sky Sports 1 showing Arsenal’s trip to Newcastle from 3pm while Tottenham’s home clash against Sunderland on Sky Sports 2 from 3.55pm.

Goal flashes, score updates and up-to-the-minute analysis of the final day games will be shown on Gillette Soccer Special (Sky Sports News) and Final Score (BBC Two), while BBC One’s Match of the Day will have comprehensive highlights of all 10 games at 10.25pm.

FOOTBALL: ITV wins live rights to England qualifiers for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018

ITV will exclusively show live coverage of all England’s international football matches both home and away for the Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualifying competitions.

The new agreement with UEFA, who are selling broadcast rights to European-based international qualifiers for the first time, continues and expands the ITV’s commitment to showing live, free-to-air coverage of the England football team.

Also included in the deal, reported to be worth £100m, are the rights for ITV4 to broadcast 20 qualifying games featuring non-home nations teams.

FOOTBALL: Sky Sports secures live home nations qualifiers for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018

Sky Sports has been awarded the rights to screen all home nations and Republic of Ireland qualification matches for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

The new agreement with UEFA provides Sky Sports with live coverage all Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland games, together with highlights of England qualifiers and a selection of live matches featuring non-home nation sides.

In a seperate announcement, Sky Sports has officially confirmed it will screen this summer’s European Under-21 Championships in Israel exclusively live.

FOOTBALL: UEFA Europa League Final 2013 – Benfica v Chelsea – Exclusively live on ITV

Rafa Benitez has not had the easiest time of in his spell as Interim boss of Chelsea, but the Spaniard his guided his side to their first UEFA Europa League final as they take on Portuguese giants Benfica.

The Blues have recovered from the setback of losing their Champions League crown at the group stage and their convincing victory over FC Basel in the last four means they have a chance of winning continental silverware for a second successive campaign.

ITV will broadcast exclusive free-to-air coverage of the climax to the 2012/3 UEFA Europa League campaign from the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday, May 15 (kick-off 7.45pm).

TV: BT Sport announces on-air presentation line-up

BT Sport has revealed its full line-up of presenters, analysts, commentators and reporters ahead the network’s launch this summer.

Among the BT team are some big name signings from the worlds of football, rugby union and tennis, plus brief details of two new regular sports magazine shows presented by Clare Balding and Tim Lovejoy.

Alongside a raft of major announcements made at BT Sport’s new headquarters on the Olympic Park, the channel’s advertising campaign hits television screens which reveasl the exciting and accessible personality of its new channels.

BT Sport has also set its launch date – Thursday, August 1, 2013.