espnW has signed commentator, reporter and former international soccer star Julie Foudy to a new multiyear contract, under which she will be stepping up her game for the worldwide leader's women's brand.
As part of her deal, Foudy will serve as the brand’s primary representative at major sporting events, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, future Olympic Games, the Special Olympics and NCAA Championships. She will also continue to be a central figure at The espnW: Women + Sports Summit, which is held annually.
Foudy’s first assignments in this new capacity included participating in ESPN’s College Football Playoff National Championship Megacast, and at X Games Aspen, where she hosted the launch of espnW.com’s new interview series Voices of the Future, which spotlights the brightest young stars in sports. The series grew out of the success of an espnW Summit panel that Foudy has hosted for the past five years.
She will also be the lead voice during ESPN’s news and information coverage of the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Canada – across espnW, as well as on ESPN’s flagship program, SportsCenter.
“espnW has been an influential force for women in sports over the last five years,” said Foudy. “W consistently produces engaging content that matters to women, and I’m looking forward to regularly contributing to that effort.”
“Julie is a household name who has built on her own athletic successes to become a versatile, knowledgeable journalist, making significant contributions across ESPN and espnW,” said Alison Overholt, editor-in chief, espnW. “Moreover, she knows instinctively those connections -- between sports and confidence, sports and leadership, sports and future success in the world -- that underpin who we are at espnW. We will benefit tremendously from having Julie join us as a major part of the team.”
Foudy, the former captain of the U.S. women's national soccer team, previously served as a writer and contributor to espnW on several initiatives, including the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and past Olympic Games.
She also has worked as a features reporter on the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Soccer Teams during World Cups (rights to which are now held by Fox Sports) and international matches, and reporter/host for ESPN studio programs – SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, First Take. She has also served as a studio analyst for the 2014 FIFA World Cup – the most-watched FIFA World Cup in the U.S. In 2010, she was a general assignment reporter for ESPN and ABC’s critically acclaimed presentation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. She has also been the lead television voice (studio and game analyst) for ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC’s coverage of the quadrennial FIFA Women’s World Cups.
