The World Cup gets underway this week.
For the next month and a half, North America becomes the center of the sporting world as 48 teams from across the globe visit to compete in the world’s biggest sporting event. The final will be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast,” I speak with Laura Williamson, The Athletic’s editor-in-chief for the U.K. and Europe, who is helping lead that outlet’s World Cup coverage.
It’s a daunting undertaking. We’re talking about 104 games across the 16 host cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Athletic will have more than 100 full-time soccer journalists writing stories for The Athletic’s website, as well as producing work for social media, newsletters and podcasts.
Williamson told me, “We talk about sporting moments, but this is just unlike anything that the company has ever done before. I was in Qatar for the duration of the tournament in 2022 and it’s just such a different animal, because you could go to four games in a day, you know. You can’t go to six across three countries this time around.”
For the 2022 World Cup, The Athletic had 21 accredited journalists on the ground. That is an impressive number. But it’s nothing compared to the resources The Athletic is putting into this year’s event.
And it’s not just about soccer. The World Cup is a social, cultural and political phenomenon.
Williamson and I discussed the incredible planning that goes into covering such an event, what The Athletic has in store each day, how sports fans consume news these days, and how soccer and sports coverage has changed.
Aside from watching on YouTube, you can also find the show on Apple, Spotify, and most places where you find podcasts.
This piece originally appeared in The Poynter Report, our daily newsletter for everyone who cares about the media. Subscribe to The Poynter Report here.
