FIFA World Cup 2022: ESPN Platforms to Present Expansive News, Information Coverage

ESPN plans extensive English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of the World Cup 2022 in Qatar across its media platforms in the U.S. On-site coverage will originate from state-of-the-art studios in Doha, beginning Thursday, November 17, through the end of the monthlong tournament on December 18.

ESPN content from Qatar will originate from two major studios and four subsets, that will serve as the global content hub for news and information coverage of the World Cup.

Futbol Americas with Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar from Qatar will headline ESPN’s English-language coverage, as well as ESPN FC daily segments from Qatar, both available exclusively on ESPN+. Expanded to a daily program throughout the month-long tournament, Futbol Americas will originate from ESPN’s World Cup 2022 studios complex in Doha, Qatar.

ESPN Deportes, the 24/7 Spanish-language sports network, will showcase most of the World Cup 2022 content from Qatar via daily editions of SportsCenter, Jorge Ramos y Su Banda, Fútbol Picante, Ahora o Nunca and Cronómetro.

English-Language Platforms:

SportsCenter

Daily editions SportsCenter, ESPN’s signature news program, will include extensive coverage and reporting from the U.S. Men’s National Team camp by Sam Borden. Former U.S. Men’s National Team player and ESPN’s lead English-language soccer analyst Taylor Twellman will make recurring appearances on the program with previews, and post-game analysis focusing on the U.S. team. He will also provide insight on key storylines from the tournament. Herculez Gomez will also contribute from Doha.

ESPN FC (Daily on ESPN+, 6 p.m.)

ESPN FC with cohosts Dan Thomas and Kay Murray, the leading daily soccer studio show will stream exclusively on ESPN+ every evening at 6 p.m. providing the most up-to-date World Cup news and analysis and featuring a diverse roster of experts from around the world.

The show will be hosted in Bristol with live reports from Qatar. Co-hosts Dan Thomas and Kay Murray will be joined daily by a rotation of analysts, including Frank Leboeuf, Craig Burley Alejandro Moreno, Steve Nicol, and Kasey Keller. Segments from Qatar will feature Alexis Nunes, Shaka Hislop, Nedum Onuoha, Sebastian Salazar, Herculez Gomez, Gab Marcotti, Julien Laurens, Mark Ogden, Pablo Zabaleta, Juan Carlos Osorio, and Sam Borden, who will report from the USMNT camp. Other featured analysts include Steve McManaman, Luis Garcia, Don Hutchison, Jan Aage Fjortoft and Gemma Soler.

Futbol Américas with Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Salazar (Daily on ESPN+, 7 p.m.)

Futbol Americas, the ESPN+ soccer studio program that covers global soccer with a focus on the United States, Mexican, and Canadian national teams, will stream live daily at 7 p.m., from Doha. Former Mexico National Team manager Juan Carlos Osorio has joined the show as a contributor.

ESPN.com / ESPNDeportes.com

Ten reporters will headline ESPN.com’s World Cup coverage from Qatar. These include Gab Marcotti, Mark Ogden, Sam Borden, Julien Laurens, James Olley, Kyle Bonagura, Tom Hamilton, Rob Dawson, Cesar Hernandez and Jeff Carlisle. Borden and Carlisle will cover the U.S. Men’s National Team, Hernandez (Mexico), Olley (England), and Julien Laurens (France). ESPNDeportes.com’s Rafa Ramos will report from site and cover the Mexican National Team. Highlights:

• Borden will provide daily video and written pieces from the U.S. Men’s National Team camp
• World Cup coverage will include almost every group stage matches and all the knockout games
• Updated daily World Cup reports for fans to catch up on what they missed, and need-to-know storylines for the next day
• Contributor Ryan O’Hanlon – author of Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game’s Analytics Revolution – will deliver his insightful analysis throughout the tournament, available exclusively on ESPN+
• World Cup team previews for all 32 teams
• World Cup Rankings: A ranking of the 32 World Cup teams, updated throughout the tournament
• Word Cup fans’ guide featuring everything you need to know about the quadrennial competition.

In addition, “Faces of World Cup Nations,” a custom digital experience from ESPN Creative Studio and Digital Editorial teams, launched today on ESPN.com. It studies the lineage of top scorers for nations in the 2022 World Cup field, and creates composite faces for each one using decades of data, giving fans a different perspective on these countries’ soccer histories.

ESPN Spanish-language Platforms:

ESPN Deportes will feature comprehensive news and information coverage across its linear and digital platforms. Highlights include:

• Over 270 live hours of news and information on linear
• More than 25 former international players and soccer journalists headline ESPN Deportes’ coverage
• Daily news and information programming originating from Qatar from six remote studio locations overlooking iconic locations in Doha. Additional studio coverage will originate from Bristol, Los Angeles, Argentina, Mexico City, and Miami
• News gathering units assigned to specific teams throughout the tournament including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay.

ESPN Deportes News and Information (all times ET)

• SportsCenter will feature three daily live editions: SportsCenter from Doha (M-S, 7-8 p.m. ET), and two additional evening shows from Mexico featuring live hits from Qatar (10 p.m. and 1 a.m. overnight)
• Fútbol Picante, the Mexican soccer-themed analysis and debate show, will feature two daily editions starting with a two-hour show that will preview the last game of the day (1-2 p.m.). In addition, the show will air a nightly special from Qatar (Monday – Saturday at 12 a.m. overnight). A daily, two-hour live edition of Fútbol Picante (4-6 p.m.) will stream live exclusively on ESPN+ throughout the competition.
• Jorge Ramos y Su Banda will expand from five to seven days a week (4 – 6 p.m.), with Jorge Ramos and Hernán Pereyra, live from Qatar
• José Ramón Fernández, David Faitelson and rotating commentators will discuss the latest news and updates from the tournament on Cronómetro, daily at 6 p.m.
• Ahora o Nunca will also expand to seven days a week airing live at 6:30 p.m. ET.
• La Revista Mundialista, the magazine-style special produced from Qatar with cohosts Alexis Nunes and Rodrigo Faez following the best games, players, moments, and stories of the tournament. The 10-episode series will be available exclusively on ESPN+. It will debut on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and will stream a new episode every other day of the tournament at 6 p.m. through Wednesday, Dec. 14.

ESPN Deportes Daily World Cup Schedule:

Spanish-Language Commentators

ESPN Deportes will have more than 25 on-air personalities providing analysis from Qatar and ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Los Angeles, Miami and Mexico City, led by 1978 World Cup champion Mario “El Matador” Kempes, former Mexican National Team stars Hugo Sánchez, Jared Borgetti, Rafa Puente, Francisco Gabriel de Anda, player Mario Carrillo, and former coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

Prominent soccer journalists covering the event from site include: Miguel Angel Briseño, Rodrigo Faes, David Faitelson, José Ramón Fernández, Paulina Garcia Robles, Roberto Gómez Junco, Carolina Guillén, Vanessa Huppenkothen, Álvaro Morales, Alexis Nunes, Carolina Padrón, Fernando Palomo, Pilar Perez, Hernán Pereyra, Jorge Pietrasanta, Ricardo Puig, Jorge Ramos, Rafael Ramos, Sebastian Salazar, Mauricio Ymay and more. In addition, Nunes, Salazar and Hercules Gomez will also contribute to the Spanish-language coverage.

Reporters assigned to specific national teams include, Pilar Pérez (USA), Mauricio Ymay, joined by Borgetti (Mexico), and Carolina Padrón (Costa Rica).

World Cup 2022 Specials on ESPN+

• A Train to Qatar:This 10-episode travelogue series, through the eyes of ESPN soccer reporter Martín Ainstein, takes viewers on a journey through the most important international sporting events. The 2022 edition of the World Cup series, which debuted in Russia 2018, visits Qatar, the most arid desert in the world, and highlights the culture, traditions, and people living in the country that will host World Cup 2022. The show includes a look at the match venues, offers hotel and restaurant recommendations, spotlights cultural centers, and more. A Train to Qatar is available on ESPN+ starting November 18.
• Futbol Americas: Road to Qatar, an eight-episode series exclusive to ESPN+ premiered in September and will conclude Wednesday, Nov. 16. All episodes are available for on-demand streaming on ESPN+. Futbol Americas: Road to Qatarfeatures interviews by award-winning ESPN senior writer and global correspondent Sam Borden about U.S. Men’s National Team players’ journeys, struggles, and lives.
• E60 Presents Qatar’s World Cup:On Sunday, Nov. 6, ESPN aired a special E60 episode that examined the controversies surrounding the selection of the Gulf state as the venue for the world’s most popular sporting event. In the episode, award-winning journalist Jeremy Schaap traveled back to Qatar to continue his reporting, that dates back to 2014, on the plight of migrant workers, human rights abuses in the country, and more. Qatar’s World Cup is available for on-demand streaming on ESPN+.