The Guardian has announced the appointment of three new journalists to its growing US and global sports desks – Pablo Iglesias Maurer, Jeff Rueter and Ella Brockway – strengthening its commitment sports reporting ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
In their new role as the Guardian’s soccer correspondents in the US, the publisher says Maurer and Rueter will lead coverage of the US national and domestic teams (men’s and women’s), support the Guardian’s reporting on the Premier League and European soccer, while bringing greater scrutiny beyond the pitch to examine soccer’s intersection with power, money, labor, culture and politics.
Maurer and Rueter – both most recently with The Athletic – have developed a reputation for hard-hitting soccer analysis and commentary, added the Guardian. Maurer’s recent Guardian investigation led to the sporting director of MLS’s Philadelphia Union, Ernst Tanner, being put on administrative leave on allegations of misconduct. And an analysis by Rueter and the Guardian’s Andrew Witherspoon in December documented how pricing for the 2026 World Cup has skyrocketed, with the largest price hikes applied to the cheapest tier of tickets.
They’ll be a crucial addition to the Guardian’s global sports endeavors, the publisher continued, contributing across platforms on the Guardian’s live blogs; its flagship soccer podcast, Football Weekly, which will be taping in the US every day during the World Cup; the Soccer with Jonathan Wilson newsletter; and in-person events, including Football Weekly shows at SXSW in Austin and in New York City this July.
Maurer and Rueter are joined by Brockway, the Guardian’s new assistant US sports editor. She comes to the Guardian from the Washington Post, where she edited coverage across a number of different sports, including all of the major US leagues, the Olympics and the World Cup. She will work alongside US sports editors Tom Lutz and Alexander Abnos to manage the Guardian’s expanded US-based soccer coverage as well as contribute to coverage of the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the Olympics and beyond.
The Guardian says its three new permanent sports roles are part of the larger expansion in the US, which has come to include more than 20 additional journalists in the past year.
Betsy Reed, US editor of the Guardian, said: “Building on the Guardian’s global sports and soccer expertise, these key stateside hires will expand our journalistic range in the US, enabling us to reach a growing and engaged audience. As we approach two landmark events happening in our backyard – the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics – more Americans will come to see the Guardian as a go-to destination for comprehensive coverage, context and commentary.”
Steve Sachs, managing director, US, the Guardian said: “Sports is one of the strongest drivers of habit and loyalty. This expansion reinforces our commitment to the US market and will position us to create meaningful opportunities for sustainable revenue, partnerships and long-term brand strength long after any single tournament or event.”
Alexander Abnos, senior editor, soccer of the Guardian said: “Jeff and Pablo have been two of the most dominant forces in American soccer journalism for some time, and Ella has already proven to be one of the sharpest editorial minds out there covering soccer and the sports world at large. I’m thrilled to welcome all of them to the Guardian, and am proud to work at a place that respects the American soccer audience enough to invest in this ongoing expansion. The Guardian’s coverage of the World Cup, and sports overall, has never been just about scores and highlights; Pablo, Jeff and Ella fit right into that vision. The story of modern American soccer is also about wealth, immigration, culture, labor, power, grassroots movements, international relations and so many other factors that are shaping our world. The Guardian will cover American soccer through all those lenses – and also as the incredible sport that we all love watching.”
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