GIS Students Cover the FIFA World Cup for the USA’s Oldest Sports Publication

Covering the FIFA World Cup is a career goal held by many sports-media professionals.

For two GIS students, this goal was achieved. Over the summer, Marios Hamboullas and Sahar Fatemi joined The Sporting News, which, founded in 1886, is the USA’s oldest sports publication.

Supporting the Global Editorial team, the pair secured two 6-week internship opportunities through GIS’ ongoing partnership with the organisation, during which they provided written content for the website that boasts over 450 million monthly impressions.

The second-year of the partnership, Marios also supported The Sporting News’ UK social media channels, which came as as part of an opportunity he labelled an “incredibly rewarding experience, and [it] confirmed that sports media is the industry I want to build my career in.”

Over the course of the internship, his content covered both club and international football, on which he said: “My biggest learning was how to create engaging editorial content for a global audience while maintaining accuracy, speed and consistency,” he said.

Marios also noted that the experience helped him understand how large international newsrooms work across different teams and time zones, with The Sporting News operating across 15 global editions and six different languages.

For Sahar, who recently began her full-time MSc Performance Analysis in Football studies, the exclusive opportunity “taught me how to think like a journalist,” having published dozens of articles including a post-tournament recap of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

Sahar and Marios both earned praise for their work from the publication’s Senior Account Manager Lauren Kay, who said: “They should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”

“Not only did they deliver fantastic editorial content, but they also learnt new systems and content styles quickly, navigated working across timezones exceptionally well, all while the biggest World Cup ever was unfolding at a fast pace.”

Marios, an MSc International Sports Management student, went on to provide some words of advice for students applying for the competitive internship in the future.

“Be proactive and don’t wait until you feel fully prepared before applying. Every opportunity allows you to develop new skills, and showing enthusiasm, reliability and a willingness to learn can make a real difference. 

“It’s also important to make the most of every task, no matter how small, because each one helps build valuable experience.”

Sahar echoed the need to be proactive, encouraging students to put as much effort into the application process as possible.

“When sending CVs out, don’t just stop there. Message the recruiter or whoever posted the role, write two or three sentences about yourself, what you’re doing, your plans, and how you can add value.”

Reflecting our aim of providing students with real industry experience, the GIS x The Sporting News partnership has allowed Sahar and Marios to put their classroom learnings into action.

To learn more about our other partnerships and internship opportunities, keep an eye on our news page.

Article by Zakaria Anani