ESPN Names Reporters for FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Five Reporters: Jeremy Schaap, Julie Foudy, John Sutcliffe, Bob Woodruff and ESPN Brazil’s Rubens Pozzi

ESPN today announced the five television reporters – Julie Foudy, Jeremy Schaap, John Sutcliffe, Bob Woodruff and ESPN Brazil’s Rubens Pozzi – for its unprecedented coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer. The reporters will appear on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC during pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, SportsCenter, ESPN FC, and FIFA World Cup-themed news and information programs, such as World Cup Tonight, throughout the month-long tournament.

Foudy, the former U.S. Women’s National Team player who covered the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, for espnW, ESPN and ABC News, will serve as general assignment reporter for those same outlets. Schaap, the seven-time Emmy award-winning journalist, will cover the United States Men’s National Team from training camp in mid-May through the completion of the World Cup.

ABC News anchor and award-winning reporter Woodruff, working primarily with ESPN’s World Cup production team in his first FIFA World Cup assignment, will cover cultural and social stories, focusing on the impact of the quadrennial event on South America’s most populous and largest economy.

Sutcliffe, ESPN’s Mexico-based journalist for soccer, football and golf majors, will continue his expert reporting on the Mexican National Team throughout the World Cup, with Brazilian journalist Pozzi, focusing primarily on the Brazilian National Team.

“Our reporter group is truly unparalleled for any sporting event. With Bob, Jeremy and Julie, we have three of the very finest reporters in the business,” said Jed Drake, ESPN Senior Vice President and Executive Producer. “Add John Sutcliffe and Rubens Pozzi, who will cover the Mexican National Team and Brazilian National Team, respectively, and we are more than ready to take on the important stories of this World Cup in Brazil that will need to be told.”

Bios:

Foudy, a former U.S. Women’s National Team captain and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, has transitioned from her playing career to one of sports television’s most respected commentators and reporters. A contributor for espnW, Foudy was lead match analyst for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, and she was part of ESPN’s FIFA World Cup team in South Africa in 2010. She reports access-driven features for ESPN news and information programs including SportsCenter and ABC News.

Pozzi, a veteran Brazilian sports journalist, joined ESPN Brazil in 2000 after working at regional and national sports media organizations in the country including Radio Parana, O Estado do Parana and TV Globo. At ESPN Brazil, he has covered major events such as the 2000 Sydney Olympics, The Masters (golf), X Games and the 2012 NBA Finals. Pozzi was a studio contributor during ESPN’s coverage of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Schaap, a correspondent for ESPN’s Outside The Lines and primetime newsmagazine E:60, is covering his second-straight FIFA World Cup this summer and his fourth overall – 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2014. During South Africa 2010, he reported on the U.S. Men’s National Team throughout its run to the Round of 16, among other tournament events and news.

 

Sutcliffe, ESPN’s Mexico City-based reporter, appears on English and Spanish-language editions of SportsCenter. He is the sideline reporter for Mexican National Team matches on ESPN as well as Monday Night Football and golf majors on ESPN Deportes. Sutcliffe has covered the Mexican National Team in five FIFA World Cup tournaments.

 

Woodruff joined ABC News in 1996 and was named co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight in 2005. He was injured in 2006 by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. His first report on ABC News after the injury, “To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports,” which chronicled his recovery from his traumatic brain injury was honored with a Peabody Award in 2008. Since then, Woodruff has travelled to cover international news events in North Korea where he reported on the nation’s long range missile launch, and in Japan, he covered the impact of the earthquake and tsunami that damaged nuclear reactors in the Oshika Peninsula. Woodruff is also a regular contributor to ESPN’s award-winning newsmagazine E:60.

ESPN Inc.’s 2014 FIFA World Cup in the United States

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be ESPN’s eighth World Cup and most comprehensive presentation to date.  ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to air all 64 matches live and in high definition (June 12 – July 13). All ESPN and ESPN2 games will be available on WatchESPN, while ABC matches will be available on WATCH ABC. ESPN3, ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network available in more than 85 million homes, will present matches live in multiple languages (other than English and Spanish). In addition, ESPN Radio, the country’s largest sports radio network, will broadcast all World Cup matches live.

ESPN’s presentation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup will include comprehensive news and information coverage of the month-long soccer showcase with renowned journalists reporting on the tournament and the host country of Brazil. Additional English-language coverage of the quadrennial event will total more than 90 hours of original programming and will include SportsCenter at the World Cup, a nightly World Cup Tonight program, ESPN FC World Cup Encore, a 30-minute pre-match show, halftime and post-match segments, as well as a World Cup-branded ESPN Films 30 for 30: Soccer Stories series, E:60 shows, and access-driven long-form storytelling features.

ESPN garnered more than 40 industry awards, including three Sports Emmys, for its presentation of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa – more accolades than any single event in the company’s history.

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