​Shortly after the Trump administration’s successful efforts to lobby FIFA to reinstate USMNT star Folarin Balogun over Fourth of July weekend, The Athletic published a scoop on the ruling.Longtime reporters Adam Crafton and Dan Sheldon broke the news of Balogun’s reinstatement hours before the U.S. faced Belgium in the Round of 16, a story that would come to define the country’s run in the World Cup.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBy the end of the week, it had also become the most-read news article in The Athletic’s history.The North American World Cup is a watershed moment in sports history and therefore a massive opportunity for the New York Times Co.-owned sports outlet, which aspires to own an even larger share of the online sports reporting and content landscape than it has since its launch a decade ago. Meetings aimed at making the most of this summer’s tournament began shortly after the Qatar World Cup in late 2022 and moved forward in earnest last spring. The company’s coverage, which involves as many as 70 reporters and editors in addition to several hosts and producers for video content, combines its New York and London-based newsrooms in what international Editor-In-Chief Laura Williamson called “the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”The World Cup has also demonstrated the many changes at The Athletic since it was purchased by the NYT Co. four years ago. Beyond written coverage, the outlet has churned out updates from its live desk, published vertical video game recaps and explainer pieces from credentialed reporters at games, and even developed a pick ’em game and bracket forecast. On the digital side, it is making a daily show for Amazon Fire TV, producing five separate podcasts, and streaming watchalongs starring Jon Mackenzie of “Tifo Football” fame.The tournament has forced significant collaboration between the outlet’s American and global newsrooms. While the New York office has overseen international coverage of Formula 1, tennis, and the Olympics in recent years, the World Cup is a different animal. Williamson said the two groups have worked to speak to both more casual American fans and soccer diehards. The global newsroom, she said, has brought American reporters into its fast-paced news-breaking workflow, while American voices have addressed the domestic stories surrounding the tournament.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThough the company chose to remove its paywall for all World Cup coverage this summer, it was more prepared to monetize the work this year, too. Counting the Amazon partnership and other highly visible activations from eBay and Google, the company had 25 sponsorship partners for World Cup coverage, according to CCO Sebastian Tomich. For Qatar 2022, he said, that number was in the single digits.“This has really been a story of how much The Athletic has changed and matured since the last World Cup,” Tomich said.At the Cannes Lions festival last month, NYT Co. CEO Meredi