Webinar Introduction
If you enjoy football, international culture, or great storytelling, this event is for you.
Join Dr. Welch Suggs—sports journalist, author, and Associate Director of the Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia—for a behind-the-scenes conversation about Atlanta's role in FIFA World Cup 2026.
Discover:
how one American city welcomed the world,
how local soccer culture came together with international fans, and
how diaspora communities helped create a truly global celebration.
Learn what it takes to cover an event watched by billions, how sports journalists find stories beyond the final score, and why the media plays such an important role in shaping our experience of global sporting events.
The discussion will also explore how youth sports have become the foundation of American professional athletics—and how the World Cup is helping inspire the next generation of players across the United States.
Come behind the headlines and experience the World Cup through the eyes of a journalist.
About the Speaker
Dr. Welch Suggs is associate director of the Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia.
He has studied sports policy as a journalist, advocate, university administrator, and for the last 15 years as a teacher and scholar, authoring a book on women’s sports and numerous articles on college sports, media, pedagogical issues, and beyond.
His current line of research is on the development of soccer particularly in the U.S. state of Georgia, which this year hosted several men’s World Cup matches and opened the national training center and headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation.