The Guardian has delivered its most ambitious and comprehensive coverage of a FIFA World Cup tournament, reaching a massive global audience through expanded reporting teams, innovative multimedia features, and strong social media engagement. Named Sports Publisher of the Year at the British Sports Journalism Awards in April, the Guardian's coverage set new benchmarks for sports journalism.
Record Social Media Engagement
Through the course of the tournament, the Guardian Sport Instagram account garnered more than 70 million views. The newly launched Guardian Sport TikTok reached over 5 million views, with 45% of viewers being female. The Guardian Football YouTube channel attracted 7 million views, accumulating more than 74,000 hours of watchtime. Community platforms like the Football Weekly subreddit also saw strong engagement, with a recent AMA drawing thousands of audience questions and comments, and the account's TikTok grew by 200%.
Major US Impact
The Guardian's approach to the tournament delivered a significant impact in the United States, with a major expansion of the US sports desk and new US soccer social channels that generated over 30 million views on Instagram and TikTok. Guardian marketing blanketed the New York City subway system and featured billboards outside the Port Authority, where fans boarded buses to MetLife Stadium.
Top-Ranking Podcast and Live Show
The Guardian's World Cup Daily podcast, hosted by Max Rushden and Barry Glendenning from Los Angeles and New York, regularly held the No. 1 spot on Apple's UK sport podcast charts and consistently ranked in the top 20 soccer shows in the US, culminating in a sold-out live show in New York.
Comprehensive Coverage
The Guardian's wide-ranging coverage included an exclusive, expert-driven guide profiling all 1,248 players of the tournament. An expanded on-the-ground presence of more than 30 writers, editors, and multimedia producers was active across North America, led by chief sports writer Barney Ronay and chief football correspondent David Hytner. Teams produced outstanding video guides on everything from must-watch games to the culture of host cities. A global team of reporters worked across a 24/7 schedule, including US-based correspondents Pablo Iglesias Maurer, Jeff Rueter, Ella Brockway, and Alexander Abnos, alongside Jack Snape (covering the Australia team), Ewan Murray (Scotland), Sid Lowe (Spain), Jacob Steinberg (England), and European sports correspondent Nick Ames.
Data-Driven Innovation
A new data and visuals team elevated reporting with data-driven predictions, pre-match buildups, goal recreations, and a unique player heat index. The Guardian drove the off-pitch sports agenda with more than two dozen exclusives and major investigation pieces. Led by first global sports business correspondent Matt Hughes, the team revealed FIFA's record earnings, fury over dynamic ticket pricing, and probed off-field controversies.
Newsletter Growth and Live Blogs
Daily football newsletters drew new subscribers throughout the tournament. Football Daily grew global subscriptions by 11% since the start of the tournament, and Jonathan Wilson's soccer newsletter for US audiences grew by 28%. The globally renowned minute-by-minute live blogs, helmed by Scott Murray, Rob Smyth, Ella Brockway, and Jonathan Howcroft, brought in millions of readers from almost every country in the world, including every competing nation for real-time expert analysis.
First-Class Commentary and Interactive Features
The Guardian featured first-class commentary from authoritative voices including Emma Hayes, Philipp Lahm, Rodrygo, and Nesrine Malik, along with illustrations by Cold War Steve and David Squires. The wildly popular Bracketology interactive was enjoyed by more than 1.25 million readers, including New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, and a video garnered nearly 3 million views on Instagram alone.
Leadership Comments
Commenting on the Guardian's coverage of the tournament, head of sport Will Woodward said: “We knew this would be the biggest World Cup and we wanted to deliver our best coverage too. This has been the largest project for the Guardian’s sports team since the 2012 London Olympics. The team’s outstanding efforts across North America and in our US, UK and Australian offices are a model of global cooperation. We have delivered some of the finest writing and reporting alongside ground-breaking interactives, videos and visual data, reaching our audiences in different ways and through new mediums.”
Ella Brockway, the Guardian’s assistant US sports editor, said: “Reporting on a World Cup hosted in our backyard gave us a rare opportunity to invite US soccer fans into the global game like never before. We were able to capture the atmosphere in host cities and track how the tournament resonated across American culture, all while delivering the on-the-ground analysis, investigative reporting and sharp commentary the Guardian is known for. Offering deep, comprehensive journalism — and keeping it entirely free and open for everyone — has been central to our success and will continue to shape our coverage as we head into the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 LA Olympics.”
Phil Maynard, the Guardian’s global head of audio, said: “We’re delighted with the way football fans around the world came to us day after day to hear expert analysis and the fan experience from across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Each podcast episode was brimming with expert analysis, all brilliantly hosted by Max Rushden with Barry Glendenning in their inimitable way.”
