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AFP launches football Twitter application

TweetFoot will allow followers to see which Tweets are the most followed and shared at key moments in a match, whether in a domestic championship or the Champions League

Agence France-Presse on Tuesday launched its AFP TweetFoot application, in collaboration with Twitter, providing the comments of thousands of Europe's most influential football players, commentators and experts in a single feed. TweetFoot provides up to 1,500 of the top Twitter activists for each of the leagues in England, Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Italy will soon follow. The application will, for example, allow followers to see which Tweets are the most followed and shared at key moments in a match, whether in a domestic championship or the Champions League. It also enables Tweets to be translated into different languages. AFP Tweetfoot is sold as a complete website with a widget available in English, French, Spanish and soon in other languages. It will soon launch similar products for NBA basketball and international cricket. AFP chairman and chief executive Emmanuel Hoog said the new product highlighted how "essential" the agency has become as a source for sports news and media. "This application with Twitter is not just a fashion statement, it is part of our development into the key area of sports," Hoog told a news conference. Justine Ryst, Twitter's development director for France, said the social media giant was "happy" to support the application. Ryst highlighted the importance of sport for Twitter saying that the World Cup in Brazil last year had generated a "huge" traffic.