World Soccer Daily
Encyclopedia
World Football Daily is a sports radio talk show hosted by Martin Rogers and Sophie Nicolaou. The show broadcasts live on the show's official website, WorldFootballDaily.com, Monday through Friday 9–11 a.m, PST
, and is later made available as a podcast. The show is streamed online live in both a video or audio-only format, and the live audio feed is given away free. When known as World Soccer Daily, it aired live on weekdays 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PST on Sirius
Channel 125. After the show left Sirius in August 2009, it returned as a web-only, subscription-based show through the show's official website.
The hosts discuss a broad range of topics related to association football. The primary topics discussed include the Premier League; UEFA Champions League
; FIFA World Cup
, including qualification
; United States men's national soccer team
, and England national football team
.
founded Soccer Weekly Inc, with Cohen acting as CEO and Geber as President. The two began hosting World Soccer Weekly on Fox Sports Radio
in Los Angeles, California. As the show grew into new markets and became a weekly show the name was eventually re-titled World Soccer Daily. On February 26, 2007, it was announced on air that sometime in April 2007 Geber would be leaving the show in order to pursue other projects, including an expanded format for his current Bluff Magazine
poker
radio program. It was announced at the time that he would instead become the first option fill-in host, while Howard Rogers, the previous first option fill-in host, would be taking over Nick's duties as full time co-host.
In March 2007, Cohen and Geber were featured in FourFourTwo
, a British
association football magazine. They were also in the Australian and American edition. The radio show is the top soccer-related show in North America
, and at one point was one of the top 10 most popular sports podcasts on iTunes
.
On February 5, 2008, Steven parted ways with Howard Rogers. Kenny Hassan
replaced Rogers as co-host.
in which he stated that the Liverpool
fans were the root cause and perpetrators of the incident.. This sparked a boycott of the show as well as a letter-writing campaign to the shows sponsors by certain Liverpool supporters groups. Cohen cancelled World Soccer Daily on August 21, 2009.
The change to the subscription service brought a different format than that of World Soccer Daily. World Football Daily became much more guest oriented bringing in the top journalists from around the globe to fulfill the "World" aspect of the game in their title. They have also brought on many players and managers from the Barclay's Premier League including the likes of Harry Redknapp
, Roberto Martinez
, Chris Hughton
, Mick McCarthy
, Alan Smith
, Micah Richards
, and Shay Given
, just to name a few.
World Football Daily has also brought an expansive coverage of the domestic game in the United States. They regularly have guests from Major League Soccer
and the United States Men's National Team. They have brought on all major U.S. players including -- Clint Dempsey
, Charlie Davies
, Brad Guzan
, Brek Shea
, Jay DeMerit
, and many more.
The show still regularly takes calls from its fans around the world in addition to bringing on the top guests from the world's game.
. World Football Daily were looking for new co-hosts from the moment of Cohen's departure. In May of the same year, Robert Burns and Sophie Nicolaou alternated from show to show to see who most deserved the co-hosting position. The Burns/Nicolaou rotation stayed all the way through the end of September and no decision was made as to who the permanent replacement would be. Hassan then suddenly departed from the show. His sudden departure, which was on September 26, 2011, three days after he announced he would leave the show, led Burns and Nicolaou to take over both positions of co-host. The pair continued together for just over one month then it was announced on October 27, 2011 that Martin Rogers of Yahoo!
Sports would take the lead hosting position. (Rogers was brought on as a guest host from time-to-time during Kenny's sole reign as host). Rogers permanently took the lead-host role on November 1, 2011 and was decided that Robert Burns would leave the show, leaving the co-host position to Nicolaou.
In addition to the show's regular staff and hosts, a number of guests often make appearances as fill-in hosts. Guest hosts of the past include former full-time WSD host Nick Geber
, ESPN's Georgie Bingham, Howard Rogers, Sir Harvey Cohen (Steven's father) and Fox Soccer Channel's
Nick Webster.
And in an effort live up to its name and expand its coverage beyond the Premier League, the show has brought on a number of regular foreign correspondents. These include:
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
, and is later made available as a podcast. The show is streamed online live in both a video or audio-only format, and the live audio feed is given away free. When known as World Soccer Daily, it aired live on weekdays 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PST on Sirius
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
Channel 125. After the show left Sirius in August 2009, it returned as a web-only, subscription-based show through the show's official website.
The hosts discuss a broad range of topics related to association football. The primary topics discussed include the Premier League; UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
; FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, including qualification
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
; United States men's national soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
, and England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
.
World Soccer Daily
In 2002, Steven Cohen and Nick GeberNick Geber
Nick Geber is a radio and television personality who co-hosted the Sirius Satellite Radio program World Soccer Daily and the TV Show Fox Football Fone-In....
founded Soccer Weekly Inc, with Cohen acting as CEO and Geber as President. The two began hosting World Soccer Weekly on Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
in Los Angeles, California. As the show grew into new markets and became a weekly show the name was eventually re-titled World Soccer Daily. On February 26, 2007, it was announced on air that sometime in April 2007 Geber would be leaving the show in order to pursue other projects, including an expanded format for his current Bluff Magazine
Bluff Magazine
Bluff Magazine is an American magazine specializing in the game of poker. Separate editions are also published for Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Australasia....
poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
radio program. It was announced at the time that he would instead become the first option fill-in host, while Howard Rogers, the previous first option fill-in host, would be taking over Nick's duties as full time co-host.
In March 2007, Cohen and Geber were featured in FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
association football magazine. They were also in the Australian and American edition. The radio show is the top soccer-related show in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and at one point was one of the top 10 most popular sports podcasts on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
On February 5, 2008, Steven parted ways with Howard Rogers. Kenny Hassan
Kenny Hassan
Kenny Hassan was the host of the World Football Daily podcast. Hassan, a native Glaswegian, supports Rangers and is a self-admitted Arsenal "admirer".-Biography:...
replaced Rogers as co-host.
Controversy and cancellation
Host Steven Cohen has faced criticism as a result of statements he has made in regards to the Hillsborough DisasterHillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
in which he stated that the Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
fans were the root cause and perpetrators of the incident.. This sparked a boycott of the show as well as a letter-writing campaign to the shows sponsors by certain Liverpool supporters groups. Cohen cancelled World Soccer Daily on August 21, 2009.
World Football Daily
On August 27, 2009 it was announced via their web site that World Football Daily would launch on August 31, 2009 as a new program. The new format for the show was launched with the intent to "change the way football is discussed by bringing a football show of the people, for the people and by the people straight to the people" The show is now run on a subscription service.The change to the subscription service brought a different format than that of World Soccer Daily. World Football Daily became much more guest oriented bringing in the top journalists from around the globe to fulfill the "World" aspect of the game in their title. They have also brought on many players and managers from the Barclay's Premier League including the likes of Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
, Roberto Martinez
Roberto Martinez
Roberto Martinez is the name of:* Roberto Martínez Lacayo, President of Nicaragua* Roberto Martínez y Gutiérrez, Mexican bishop consecrated by Moisés CarmonaSports* Roberto Martínez , Honduran boxer...
, Chris Hughton
Chris Hughton
Christopher William Gerard "Chris" Hughton is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Birmingham City F.C....
, Mick McCarthy
Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph "Mick" McCarthy is an English-born former Irish international footballer who is currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has been in charge since July 2006....
, Alan Smith
Alan Smith
Alan Smith is an English footballer who plays for Newcastle United. He has also represented the England national football team, winning 19 caps....
, Micah Richards
Micah Richards
Micah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...
, and Shay Given
Shay Given
Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....
, just to name a few.
World Football Daily has also brought an expansive coverage of the domestic game in the United States. They regularly have guests from Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
and the United States Men's National Team. They have brought on all major U.S. players including -- Clint Dempsey
Clint Dempsey
Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey is an American soccer player who plays for Fulham and the United States national team. Dempsey usually plays as either an attacking midfielder, or a striker....
, Charlie Davies
Charlie Davies
Charles Desmond "Charlie" Davies is an American soccer player who plays as a striker for French Ligue 1 side Sochaux....
, Brad Guzan
Brad Guzan
Bradley Edwin "Brad" Guzan is an American soccer player who plays for Aston Villa of the Premier League.-Early Career:...
, Brek Shea
Brek Shea
Dane Brekken "Brek" Shea is a footballer who currently plays midfielder for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer and the U.S. national team...
, Jay DeMerit
Jay DeMerit
Jay Michael DeMerit is an American soccer player who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer, and for the United States national team...
, and many more.
The show still regularly takes calls from its fans around the world in addition to bringing on the top guests from the world's game.
Change of Hosts
Steven Cohen left the show due to personal reasons on April 1, 2011 and left the show to be hosted solely by Kenny HassanKenny Hassan
Kenny Hassan was the host of the World Football Daily podcast. Hassan, a native Glaswegian, supports Rangers and is a self-admitted Arsenal "admirer".-Biography:...
. World Football Daily were looking for new co-hosts from the moment of Cohen's departure. In May of the same year, Robert Burns and Sophie Nicolaou alternated from show to show to see who most deserved the co-hosting position. The Burns/Nicolaou rotation stayed all the way through the end of September and no decision was made as to who the permanent replacement would be. Hassan then suddenly departed from the show. His sudden departure, which was on September 26, 2011, three days after he announced he would leave the show, led Burns and Nicolaou to take over both positions of co-host. The pair continued together for just over one month then it was announced on October 27, 2011 that Martin Rogers of Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
Sports would take the lead hosting position. (Rogers was brought on as a guest host from time-to-time during Kenny's sole reign as host). Rogers permanently took the lead-host role on November 1, 2011 and was decided that Robert Burns would leave the show, leaving the co-host position to Nicolaou.
Current
- Martin Rogers - Lead Host
- Sophie Nicolaou - Full time co-host
- Rafael Gonzales - Producer
- James Cranford - Assistant Producer
- Casey Keirnan - Assistant Producer
In addition to the show's regular staff and hosts, a number of guests often make appearances as fill-in hosts. Guest hosts of the past include former full-time WSD host Nick Geber
Nick Geber
Nick Geber is a radio and television personality who co-hosted the Sirius Satellite Radio program World Soccer Daily and the TV Show Fox Football Fone-In....
, ESPN's Georgie Bingham, Howard Rogers, Sir Harvey Cohen (Steven's father) and Fox Soccer Channel's
Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
Nick Webster.
Guests and correspondents
In early 2008, World Soccer Daily increased the frequency of guest appearances on the show. These guests include:- football commentator Martin TylerMartin TylerMartin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...
- football pundit Robbie EarleRobbie EarleRobert Fitzgerald "Robbie" Earle MBE is an English-born Jamaican former international footballer who played as a midfielder. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals....
- Fox Soccer Channel's Bobby McMahonBobby McMahonRobert "Bobby" McMahon is a Scottish football analyst for Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports World Canada. He appears exclusively on Fox Soccer Report. He also maintains a blog called Soccer Report Extra....
- ESPN's commentator Derek RaeDerek RaeDerek Rae is a Scottish football announcer for ESPN, working as a sports commentator for its coverage of the UEFA Champions League and Scottish Premier League. He is also the host of ESPNsoccernet's PressPass.- Career :...
- Setanta Sports commentator Pat DolanPat DolanPatrick Dolan is a former football player, manager, and executive. He is a soccer analyst on Setanta Sports Ireland.-Early life:...
- Daniel King of London's Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
- International referee Graham PollGraham PollGraham Poll is an English former football referee in the Premier League and is considered the best English referee of the last 25 years in a list maintained by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics...
- Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
's Grant WahlGrant WahlGrant Wahl is an American sports journalist who is best known for being a writer for Sports Illustrated. He is also the author of the controversial book, The Beckham Experiment.-Career:...
And in an effort live up to its name and expand its coverage beyond the Premier League, the show has brought on a number of regular foreign correspondents. These include:
- Phil BallPhil BallPhil Ball is a British writer based in Spain. He has lived in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, for almost twenty years. Born in Canada to English parents, Ball grew up in Grimsby on the north east coast of England, having moved there as a child in 1957. As a youngster Ball supported Grimsby Town,...
from San Sebastian, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - Tim VickeryTim VickeryTim Vickery is an English football journalist who has lived in Brazil since 1994. He currently serves as the South American football correspondent for the BBC, writing a weekly column for the corporation online...
who covers South America for BBC SportBBC SportBBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis... - Sayed Otaru of NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
- Andy Brassell who covers Europe
Former personnel
- Steven Cohen – co-founder of the original World Soccer Weekly show as well as World Football Daily
- Nick GeberNick GeberNick Geber is a radio and television personality who co-hosted the Sirius Satellite Radio program World Soccer Daily and the TV Show Fox Football Fone-In....
- former co-host (replaced by Howard Rogers) - Kenny HassanKenny HassanKenny Hassan was the host of the World Football Daily podcast. Hassan, a native Glaswegian, supports Rangers and is a self-admitted Arsenal "admirer".-Biography:...
- former co-host (replaced by Robert Burns and Sophie Nicolaou) - Howard Rogers - former co-host (replaced by Kenny Hassan)
- Robert Burns - former co-host (replaced by Martin Rogers)