After 20 years of running World Soccer Talk, I’m officially handing over the reins, so I’m no longer running the site.
Instead, I’ve accepted a new position at a marketing company in a different industry, one I had before I launched WST in 2005.
You may remember that I successfully sold World Soccer Talkin 2022. Since then, I’ve been working on transitioning the site over to the new owners. My mission is complete, and they’ll continue running the site.
Looking back through World Soccer Talk history
Looking back, I have so many wonderful memories to reflect upon. One of my proudest accomplishments was to take what started as a blog (EPL Talk) written in my bedroom on nights and weekends and to transform it into World Soccer Talk, which grew to rank in the top five English-language soccer websites in the United States. At its height, World Soccer Talk generated more traffic than FIFA.com, MLSsoccer.com, PremierLeague.com, and RealMadrid.com.
Along the way, we broke so many exclusive stories, which was an incredible achievement for me and my team since we were an independent publisher. At our height, we had five full-time employees and a team of 15-20 freelance writers worldwide. Managing that team was one of my proudest achievements, and building the site into a profitable, debt-free company was something I was very proud of especially when so many competing websites crashed and burned.
World Soccer Talk means different things to different people. Some remember us as one of the OG soccer podcasts. After launching the pod in 2005, we had an incredible run of 20 years where the show took on many different forms. An interview podcast that included conversations with some of the biggest names in the sport. A preview/review of weekend games. And then finally, a TV/streaming industry podcast that caught listeners up on the latest ways to watch games, as well as a deep dive into many of the biggest stories from the world of soccer.
Over the years, we published books (remember, SoccerWarz), an EPL Talk Magazine, soccer T-shirts, the Soccer TV Schedules app, a daily email newsletter (WST Insider), documentaries, and how-to-watch guides, among many other things.
From day one, my goal was to help grow the game of soccer in the United States. Our focus in later years on making our TV schedules as accessible as possible helped a great deal with that, to make it easier for people to find out where to watch games especially when there were so many confusing options.
Thank you everyone
Of course, I couldn’t have done it without you, the readers, and the support of the World Soccer Talk team.
Hopefully, we’ve brought joy, information, or spirited debate into your life. It’s a goodbye from me, but feel free to contact me on social media. I’m looking forward to watching the sport as a fan, continuing to support Swansea City, and traveling more around the world.
Thanks for the journey.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
