‘Where In the Hell Was ESPN?’ — Fox Sports Frustrated With Rival Network’s Lack of FIFA World Cup Coverage

More than a decade ago, Fox Sports wrestled the FIFA World Cup away from ESPN in one of the most significant broadcasting battles in American soccer history.

In 2011, Fox reportedly paid roughly $425 million to secure the English-language U.S. rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, ending ESPN’s run as the tournament’s primary broadcaster. FIFA later extended Fox’s deal to include the 2026 World Cup, bringing soccer’s biggest event back to North America.

Now, however, some Fox executives are reportedly frustrated with the amount of coverage the tournament is receiving from their longtime rival, according to Front Office Sports.

Why Fox Sports Is Frustrated With ESPN’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Coverage

According to a Front Office Sports report, some Fox executives were particularly disappointed by ESPN’s coverage of the United States men’s national team’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the host nation’s opening match.

The result was one of the most significant in recent USMNT history, with the team recording its largest World Cup victory margin since 1930. More importantly, they achieved the feat in the first FIFA World Cup hosted at home since 1994.

Exclusive: There’s bad blood between FIFA World Cup broadcaster Fox Sports and rival ESPN, sources tell FOS.

Fox executives are frustrated at what they perceive as ESPN’s lack of coverage around the first men’s World Cup held in the U.S. since 1994. @MMcCarthyREV explains ⬇️

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 16, 2026

Yet some within Fox reportedly felt the achievement received little attention across ESPN’s television programming.

“We’re talking about a historic performance by Team USA. Where in the hell was ESPN?” one source reportedly told Front Office Sports.

Sports editor Fred Robledo also questioned ESPN’s handling of the tournament on X. “Just watched SportsCenter Top 10, not one World Cup highlight, two pro softball games, a minor league baseball game, even dog frisbee. What are we doing?”

Front Office Sports’ ESPN sources pushed back against the criticism, saying that FIFA’s media restrictions significantly limit what non-rights holders can show during the tournament.

Fox owns the exclusive English-language broadcasting rights, and under FIFA’s “news access guidelines,” ESPN cannot freely air match highlights throughout its programming.

The report revealed that ESPN must wait until Fox has completed its match and studio coverage for the day before using footage from World Cup matches. Depending on kickoff times, that delay can stretch more than 12 hours after a game concludes.

The restrictions also affect studio programs. FIFA reportedly only permits highlights on qualifying television news broadcasts, meaning shows such as SportsCenter can use footage under certain conditions, while discussion-based programs like First Take and Get Up cannot.

Additionally, strict limits exist on the amount of footage that can be shown. Individual clips cannot exceed 30 seconds, while a broadcast can show no more than 90 seconds from a single match.

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ESPN has increased its FIFA World Cup coverage in recent days. Both Mike Greenberg’s “Get Up” and Stephen A. Smith’s “First Take” featured former Premier League striker Bradley Wright-Phillips. Pat McAfee has also dedicated segments of his show to the tournament.

“We’ll cover this every day for you here, because obviously this is a major international happening taking place on national soil,” Greenberg said, pledging that ESPN will continue covering the World Cup.

ESPN may not be obligated to devote wall-to-wall coverage to a tournament owned by a rival broadcaster — here, Fox Sports. But with Team USA generating excitement on home soil as they hope to qualify for the later stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, questions about the network’s level of coverage are likely to persist — fairly or unfairly.

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