The Guardian has announced a major expansion of its global football coverage, creating seven new roles — six of them in the United States — ahead of the 2026 men's World Cup in North America. The move aims to bring the newspaper's distinctive, witty and high-impact reporting to a growing US audience while generating new revenue opportunities.
The expanded team will enhance coverage of US national teams and domestic leagues (both men's and women's), increase focus on the billionaires and power brokers shaping the sport, and continue the Guardian's popular reporting on the English Premier League and global football. The recruitment drive, opened on 8 October, includes positions spanning sports and business reporting, visuals and video.
The Guardian plans to deliver its richest and most innovative World Cup coverage yet for the 48-team tournament. Plans include daily editions of the Football Weekly podcast from the US, a live show, bigger interactives and player guides, enhanced video offerings, and minute-by-minute liveblogs for all 104 games. The expansion is intended to be enduring, continuing through to the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The announcement follows the success of the Guardian's weekly newsletter Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, strong US audiences for the Football Weekly podcast and match liveblogs, and the popularity of writers such as Barney Ronay, Jonathan Liew, Suzanne Wrack and Sid Lowe. A dedicated US soccer vertical launched two years ago, now led by Alex Abnos, has already proved popular with readers and advertisers.
“There’s a devoted and knowledgeable base of soccer fans in the US hungry for more analysis and coverage of both European football and international competitions like the World Cup,” the Guardian said. “With the tournament headed to North America, 2026 presents a golden opportunity to bring our world-renowned soccer coverage to our growing US audience.”
The Guardian, which has no billionaire owner and is free from political or commercial influence, serves audiences through five editions: Australia, Europe, International, UK and US. It says millions of people worldwide choose its journalism every day, with more than two million readers across 180 countries supporting its work.
