In an alternate reality, Semra Hunter might have been a World Cup-winning player. Instead, the Los Angeles-born star is covering the tournament as a journalist for ITV. Hunter is part of the ITV team reporting on the North American World Cup, alongside broadcasting giants Laura Woods and Mark Pougatch. She has built her experience in football media, working for CBS Sports Golazo in the United States and now appearing on British television for the event.
From Player to Broadcaster
Hunter did not originally train to be a broadcaster. She dreamed of becoming one of the world's best footballers. Growing up in LA, she played constantly and began attracting attention with her performances. In an interview with The Set Pieces, she explained: “If I wasn’t at school or studying, I played football. Then when I was 16, I suffered a bad injury and that was the end of that.”
After studying International Relations at the University of California Berkeley, she was uncertain about her future. Her mother suggested she could become a reporter because she loved sports and traveling. “She gave me the belief,” Hunter said. “I applied for a sports journalism and communication masters at the UEM in Madrid and got accepted. I did the whole programme in Spanish and worked an internship off the back of that.”
Career Journey
Hunter's first broadcast job was with Al-Jazeera, followed by a role at La Liga giants Real Madrid. She has also worked for the BBC and Sky Sports. At Real Madrid, she spent two-and-a-half years doing everything from reporting in English and Spanish to writing, editing, and producing her own shows. She then moved to Istanbul for two years, working as a sports anchor and correspondent for Beyond the Game’s daily sports news programme, covering events like Euro 2016 in France.
After returning to Spain for personal reasons, she joined La Liga TV when it launched in 2018. Before that, she had a short stint hosting e-sports for Konami. Now, she is part of ITV's World Cup coverage, bringing her diverse experience to the tournament.
