Since launching on June 12, Politico’s World Cup live blog has published more than 100 articles on the intersection of the major world sports moment and international affairs. In just a month, the hub has generated 2.5 million pageviews—a remarkable audience haul for a publication better known for politics than penalty kicks.
The blog is the culmination of an editorial strategy put into motion about a year ago, when reporters across Politico’s global newsroom began hearing rumblings that European soccer leaders were concerned about the impact certain Trump Administration policies may have on World Cup plans.
“We realized we needed to treat FIFA and its president [Gianni Infantino] as major characters in American political life,” Politico enterprise managing editor Sasha Issenberg tells Front Office Sports. “That required the development of all new sourcing and new expertise. Very few of us had ever covered sports in any real way.”
White House reporter Sophia Cai was the first to volunteer to adopt soccer as a secondary beat last spring, and others quickly followed suit. The D.C.–based outlet now has six journalists credentialed to cover matches, and is churning out several World Cup stories per day.
