The tournament featured 40 more matches than the previous World Cup, with fixtures spread across multiple time zones. That created a logistical challenge for news organisations attempting to cover the competition consistently from stadiums, supporter zones and host cities.
The report says the photography team’s presence across North America allowed staff to work in home markets rather than chase every match from a distant base. That local reach matters in an expanded tournament, where the football story changes from venue to venue and country to country.
World Cup coverage rarely stops at goals, saves and celebrations. The report describes assignments involving fan rituals, politics, economics, culture, human rights, controversy and nationalism.
That breadth explains why tournament photography remains central to the way major events are remembered. A single image can capture a supporter’s journey, a host city’s identity or the pressure carried by a player representing an entire country.
The time-zone spread also increased the importance of images for audiences unable to watch every match live. Photographs provide a shared visual record when the global conversation is moving across different schedules and platforms.
The report says 16 photographers were asked to select favourite images from the tournament. Those choices turn a vast body of work into a more personal record of the competition, highlighting moments that may outlast individual results.
The next test will be whether future expanded tournaments can maintain that same balance: comprehensive match coverage, strong local storytelling and a clear editorial distance from the emotion surrounding football’s biggest stage.