Carli Lloyd, Julie Ertz, Alexi Lalas headline Fox Sports' inaugural Women's Euros broadcast
Fox Sports is going all in for its first broadcast of the UEFA Women's European Championship, assembling a high-profile mix of big-time stars and fresh voices to cover the monthlong tournament that kicks off July 2 in Switzerland.
The network is rolling out a mix of seasoned veterans and recent U.S. women's national team retirees to handle coverage both in-studio and in the field.
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Studio coverage for the tournament will be anchored by two-time World Cup winner and National Soccer Hall of Famer Carli Lloyd, fellow USWNT legend Julie Ertz and Ariane Hingst, who won two World Cups with Germany.
This will be Ertz's first time working with Fox. Before this assignment, she appeared as a guest analyst during TNT's studio coverage of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup semifinals.
For Lloyd, it will be her third summer and fourth major international tournament with the network after she debuted as a studio analyst at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
'I always enjoyed the tactical part of the game,' she told The Athletic. 'I honestly never planned what I would do or how I would feel after retirement, but this feels like such a natural transition. I love being able to watch incredible soccer and talk about the game with legends.
'They have such incredible knowledge of the game. I'm excited to come together with them to talk everything women's soccer. Every player sees the game slightly different, and it's fun for players from different teams and eras to come together, break down the game and share their unique perspectives and love for the game.'
In addition to the World Cup winners, longtime Fox analyst and National Soccer Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas will join the broadcast team for the tournament, as will former USMNT midfielder Stu Holden. British broadcaster Jules Breach, who hosted Fox's UEFA Men's Euro 2024 coverage last summer, will join the team as the network's lead for the tournament.
Fox's play-by-play booth includes British broadcaster Jacqui Oatley, who made history in 2022 as the first woman to call a men's World Cup match for a U.S. network, as well as seasoned soccer broadcasters John Strong and JP Dellacamera.
Former players-turned-analysts Lori Lindsey (USWNT), Lianne Sanderson (England) and Jen Beattie (Scotland), who hung up her boots earlier this year after an 18-year playing career, will join them in the booth. Beattie will also contribute to the studio show. Lindsey and Oatley are reuniting at this tournament after calling matches at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
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'Looking back at the 2023 World Cup, the coverage was unprecedented,' Lindsey told The Athletic. 'Now this summer, the Euros will be even more accessible.'
Fox Sports will broadcast all 31 matches of the tournament live, with 19 airing on the main Fox channel, 11 on FS1 and one on FS2.
'What stands out with this Fox crew is their shared love for the game. It's a mix of recently retired players and longtime broadcasters,' Lindsey said. 'Take Julie Ertz, for example. She's a U.S. legend just starting her TV career, but more importantly, she brings firsthand insight into what it's like to play in high-stakes tournaments. That kind of perspective, what pressure feels like on the field, what these moments mean to players, is what makes the coverage more real and helps push the game forward.'
The Euros are the latest addition to Fox Sports' growing list of major soccer tournaments, which includes the FIFA men's World Cup in 2026, Copa América and the Concacaf Gold Cup. Fox holds the record for the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history, with 25.4 million viewers tuning in for the 2015 Women's World Cup final, according to the network.
The Women's European Championship coverage will kick off with a doubleheader on Fox featuring Iceland vs. Finland at noon and host Switzerland vs. Norway at 3 p.m. ET on July 2, with Lindsey and Oatley leading the coverage.
(Top photo, from left, of Stu Holden, Ariane Hingst and Alexi Lalas: Fox Sports)
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