2022 World Soccer Talk Awards winners announced
In the 2022 edition of the World Soccer Talk Awards, more than 66,000 votes were cast to decide the best in English-language soccer media. Representing several categories including the best podcast, website, TV coverage, YouTube channel, commentator, presenter and more, the candidates were nominated and voted on by soccer fans worldwide.
Check to see if the nominees you voted for succeeded in being honored as the best in their category.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2022 World Soccer Talk Awards:
Best TV Coverage
When it comes to the best soccer coverage on television, World Soccer Talk readers have voted NBC Sports as the best. Facing tough competition from CBS Sports and others, NBC Sports still rule the roost. Since 2013, NBC Sports have brought the English Premier League into millions of homes each week with consistently good coverage.
CBS Sports are hot on their heels, but NBC Sports are still the favorite among the majority of soccer fans in the United States. This August, NBC Sports begin their 10th consecutive year of Premier League coverage.
Winner: NBC Sports
Runner Up: CBS Sports
See voting results on the Best TV Coverage page.
Best Streaming Service
Everyone has their favorite streaming service, but the most favorite of all for soccer fans is ESPN+. The streaming service was voted number one by the readers of World Soccer Talk. With ESPN+ offering LaLiga, Bundesliga, English Championship, MLS, FA Cup, League Cup, Liga MX, and Copa del Rey, we are not surprised it is number one.
Winner: ESPN+
Runner Up: Paramount+
See voting results on the Best Streaming Service page.
Best TV Presenter
In an upset, CBS Sports presenter Poppy Miller was voted the Best TV Presenter in 2022. As one of the hosts of CBS Sports HQ, as well as familiar presenter on CBS Sports’ coverage of Serie A, Poppy Miller has done a fantastic job at finding the balance between light-hearted entertainment and deep analysis. As a Nottingham Forest supporter, too, how could you not love seeing her joy on-screen after her favorite club were promoted to the English Premier League? Poppy has a bright future ahead of her, and we’re thankful to have her covering the sport on US television and streaming.
Winner: Poppy Miller
Runner Up: Rebecca Lowe
See voting results on the Best TV Presenter page.
Best Studio Analyst
Anyone who has watched the Serie A coverage from CBS Sports the past two seasons will have noticed the excellent job that studio analyst Mike Grella has done. As a former player and scout, Grella combines a love for Italian football with an honest and deep understanding of the game.
Grella has made a flying start as an analyst on television. He’s comfortable in front of the camera, and has excellent chemistry with the other analysts in the studio.
We’re expecting Grella’s star to continue to rise.
Winner: Mike Grella
Runner Up: Jamie Carragher
See voting results on the Best Studio Analyst page.
Best Commentator:
In the biggest surprise result of the World Soccer Talk Awards, Ramses Sandoval has been voted best commentator. It’s not that Sandoval isn’t an excellent commentator. He does well on broadcasts from TUDN and MLS. It’s the fact that he was able to get more votes than bigger names from the English-language soccer commentary world.
Sandoval has a lot of fine attributes as an announcer including his ability to blend English words into his Spanish-language commentary. We’ve also enjoyed many of his English-language commentaries of MLS games too.
Winner: Ramses Sandoval
Runner Up: Chris Wyttingham
See voting results on the Best Commentator page.
Best Co-commentator:
When it comes to enjoying a soccer game, the role of a commentator is key. However, a co-commentator can take the broadcast to another level by offering analysis that helps you see things you didn’t notice before. It’s a difficult job and an art form in itself, but a lot of it comes down to the chemistry with the lead announcer too.
In the category of Best Co-Commentator, congratulations go to Taylor Twellman at ESPN for being voted number one, beating out FOX Sports’ Stu Holden who came a close second.
Whether it’s the FA Cup, MLS or the US Men’s National Team, Taylor Twellman is the best.
Winner: Taylor Twellman
Runner Up: Stu Holden
See voting results on the Best Co-commentator page.
Best YouTube Channel:
It’s no wonder that Tifo Football was able to be acquired recently by The Athletic. Tifo Football has a unique perspective on the world’s game in the way it uses video to get its analysis across.
Tifo Football is a breath of fresh air, so it’s no wonder that soccer fans worldwide have given it the honor of the Best YouTube Channel. Congratulations.
Winner: Tifo Football
Runner Up: Mark Goldbridge – That’s Football
See voting results on the Best YouTube Channel page.
Best Fan YouTube Channel:
Out of all of the many club-related fan YouTube channels, Redmen TV continues to lead the pack with in-depth coverage and a fervent fanbase that shares their passion for Liverpool Football Club.
The popular Redmen TV was able to rise above fan YouTube channels for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea to win top honors. Congratulations to the hard working team at Redmen TV.
Winner: Redmen TV
Runner Up: WeAreTottenhamTV
See voting results on the Best Fan YouTube Channel page.
Best Podcast:
Facing tough competition from some of the most popular podcasts across the pond, the American soccer podcasts came through with flying colors to earn top honors in the Best Podcast category.
Coming in at number one is The Scuffed Podcast, an in-depth show about the U.S. men’s national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.
Congratulations to the team at The Scuffed Podcast.
Winner: The Scuffed Podcast
Runner Up: The Soccer OG
See voting results on the Best Podcast page.
Best Club Podcast:
In one of the most hotly contested categories, Bayern Munich supporters flew their flag for the Bavarian Football Works podcast, helping it to defeat tough competition from Tottenham Hotspur supporters, in particular.
Hosted by SB Nation’s Chuck Smith, the American podcast does an excellent job at covering all of the important topics about Germany’s number one soccer team. Congratulations to the Bavarian Football Works team, and best of luck during the 2022/23 season.
Winner: Bavarian Football Works
Runner Up: The View from the Lane
See voting results on the Best Club Podcast page.
Best Podcast Host:
As the host of the Total Soccer Show podcast, Taylor Rockwell continues to be a familiar voice for podcast listeners in the United States. Since 2009, Rockwell has helped cultivate a loyal following of listeners given his wide array of topics that he covers on the podcast.
Congratulations to Taylor and the Total Soccer Show crew on this great honor.
Winner: Taylor Rockwell
Runner Up: James Richardson
See voting results on the Best Podcast Host page.
Best Podcast Analyst:
Having appeared on FOX Sports and ESPN, Herculez Gomez never holds back and always speaks his mind. Those attributes are so hard to find in US soccer media, which is one of the many reasons why we – and soccer fans — love hearing Herc’s analysis.
As the analyst on Fútbol Americas, Herc teams up well with host and presenter Sebastian Salazar.
Winner: Herculez Gomez
Runner Up: Rafa Honigstein
See voting results on the Best Podcast Analyst page.
Best Website:
Having launched six years ago with a goal of providing smarter coverage for die-hard fans, The Athletic has achieved a lot in a short amount of time, leading to being acquired by The New York Times earlier this year.
Congratulations to The Athletic on being recognized as the Best Soccer Website.
Winner: The Athletic
Runner Up: ESPN FC
See voting results on the Best Website page.
Best Writer:
Out of all of the categories in the 2022 World Soccer Talk Awards, the Best Writer nominees are usually the ones who don’t like to make a big fuss about being nominated. Most journalists are all about the subjects they write about instead of themselves. And this couldn’t be truer in the voting for the 2022 Best Writer award.
Among some tough competition in the category, the journalist who received the most votes is Jonathan Tannenwald of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Whether it’s women’s soccer, the Philadelphia Union or US soccer in general, you’ll be hard pressed to find a journalist who works as hard as Tannenwald. It’s not an easy job either. Tannenwald can always be expected to ask the tough questions. But at the heart of the story is a love for the game and a desire for the truth.
Winner: Jonathan Tannenwald
Runner Up: Pablo Maurer
See voting results on the Best Writer page.