World Cup coverage plans from World Soccer Talk

It’s been a busy few months for World Soccer Talk, and we’re excited to share some big updates about our World Cup coverage plans:

More than a year in the making

• First, this month, World Soccer Talk celebrates 17 years in existence. Thank you for supporting us all of these years and relying us on a trusted source for quality journalism (and TV schedules, of course). A key difference in our coverage is that we don’t have a paywall. We believe that quality journalism doesn’t have to be behind walled gardens.

• Second, we’ve made major changes by hiring more than a dozen writers to bring you more coverage of soccer. If you remember, previously, a lot of our news coverage was from a wire service (AFP). Since September, 100% of our articles are custom written by our team. That’s a big change, and a significant investment in resources. And we’re looking to continue that through the World Cup and beyond.

• Third, we’ve added new features. For example, you can now receive push notifications when major stories happen from the world of soccer. Plus, we’re adding a new feature to the site which is something I always wanted since WST launched in 2005 — live stats from Opta. These will include schedules, standings and more. We also have other new features in the works coming soon.

Both Kyle Fansler and I have been working together for more than one year to prepare all of the content we have for the World Cup (see our video below). That has required countless interviews with executives at the TV companies, as well as plenty of research. Combined with the artistic brilliance of our graphic/web designer Derek Reese, he has significantly helped to make our content even more professional.

Our goal is to make it as easy as possible to watch the games, arming you with the details you need to make the best viewing choices.

We won’t be shying away from the controversial topics either. As anyone who has listened to the World Soccer Talk Podcast knows, we share our unfiltered views about the sport we love. And that includes criticizing the World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar, as well as FOX’s focus on ignoring the important off-the-pitch incidents.

Speaking of the World Soccer Talk Podcast, we’ve already dropped our World Cup Preview episode that discusses all of the TV and streaming options. And both Kartik Krishnaiyer and I plan on keeping you informed throughout the tournament with more new episodes about the World Cup coverage.

Last but not least, on behalf of World Soccer Talk, I’d like to apologize that one certain feature is taking longer than expected to be corrected. Namely, that’s the one where we want each day of the TV schedules to remain visible until the day ends. It’s an important feature to bring back, and it’s on the list for our tech team to fix. For that change and the previous ones, I’d like to thank all of you for your patience with the changes we’ve been making behind the scenes to improve the site.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto