{"id":3474,"date":"2026-06-24T13:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3474"},"modified":"2026-06-24T13:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:35:27","slug":"international-journalists-walk-a-fine-line-at-the-world-cup-and-they-break-some-unspoken-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3474","title":{"rendered":"International journalists walk a fine line at the World Cup. And they break some unspoken rules."},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of the first things they teach you in journalism school \u2014 particularly if you\u2019re planning a career as a sportswriter \u2014 is a simple six-word phrase: \u201cNo cheering in the press box.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Appeasing Jaylen Brown after Giannis trade fell apart should be a priority for the Celtics<\/a><\/p>\n

It has a more subtle connotation, making a broader point about objectivity, but also a very literal one about press box etiquette.<\/span><\/p>\n

That rule, much like fans\u2019 wallets and Boston\u2019s transportation infrastructure, is being stretched pretty thin by this World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The press box in the currently named Boston Stadium is a place used to relative quiet and order, but a number of journalists have been having a blast (and making their allegiances clearly known) during their stay in Foxborough.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each nation\u2019s reporters has a slightly different approach. The English were generally pretty quiet through a 0-0 draw with Ghana, mostly muttering frustrations in hushed tones. The Scottish were largely leaning toward stress over their two games here, seemingly worrying that their nation was going to blow it (again). You hardly heard a peep out of the Norwegians during a 4-1 win over Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Photos: A rainy day of soccer as England ties with Ghana in World Cup game in Foxborough<\/div>\n

A little more noise came from the Ghanaians on Tuesday, who seemed to be doing their best to restrain themselves from letting their emotions out amid a hectic goalless draw against England.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very dicey and difficult because you have to be very professional in your job, but at same time your heart follows where you come from,\u201d said Yaw Adofo, a Ghanaian journalist who now lives in Maryland. \u201cYou have to make sure professionalism comes in between your pride and the job that you\u2019re doing. It\u2019s difficult to keep your composure when it\u2019s a game like this, between England and Ghana, but you have to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Ghanaians just about maintained that composure on Tuesday, their African neighbors to the northwest did no such thing on Friday. As Morocco picked up a crucial 1-0 win over Scotland, Moroccan journalists in the press box were as loud as the fans outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

They wore Moroccan jerseys, they shouted at every misplaced pass on a counter attack and every defensive lapse, and when the final whistle went, they cheered as if they\u2019d just finished watching the game in their living room at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Can you blame them?<\/span><\/p>\n

Much as it does for the fans, the World Cup provides journalists from all over the world the chance to see their nation on the biggest stage, to see their country\u2019s colors flown for the whole world to see, to hear their national anthems played at a World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NATO\u2019s Trump whisperer heads to the White House to soothe the president ahead of next month\u2019s summit<\/a><\/p>\n

Four of the countries playing in Foxborough \u2014 Norway, Scotland, Haiti, and Iraq \u2014 haven\u2019t seen the World Cup stage this century.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 29, soon to be 30, and Scotland were last at a World Cup in 1998, so a few generations, we have never experienced Scotland being at the major stage,\u201d said Jordan Campbell, a Scottish reporter for the Athletic. \u201c[Hearing the Scottish anthem] was amazing, to be honest. Coming into the industry, the ultimate goal is to watch Scotland play at a World Cup \u2026 it was amazing, quite emotional for a lot of us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>World Cup task force head Andrew Giuliani offers approval: \u2018Boston has shone really, really bright\u2019<\/div>\n

Of course, there\u2019s a job to do, and a level of professionalism to be maintained. Some \u2014 journalism professors, especially \u2014 might frown upon the Moroccans\u2019 effusive, external eruptions, instead preferring the relative stoicism of the Scots and the English.<\/span><\/p>\n

But at a tournament ostensibly about joy, national pride, and togetherness through soccer, it\u2019s hard to be too critical.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Ghana hung on to that scoreless draw with England, one that will likely put the Black Stars into the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time since 2010, Ghanaian reporters broke into a modest round of applause. <\/span><\/p>\n

It meant something to them. After all, those journalists are achieving a dream, too, with family and friends back home \u2014 in Scotland or Morocco, England or Ghana, Norway or Iraq \u2014 that couldn\u2019t be prouder.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re always happy and proud,\u201d Yaw said of his friends and family. \u201cI have a brother who does photography for my website, so he\u2019s [pitchside], and we are very happy and excited. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Ghanaian and every friend and every journalism colleague who loves football is very enthusiastic about how we\u2019re all covering the World Cup, and the happiness that we find in ourselves to do the job.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The Fleet couldn\u2019t replace Alina M\u00fcller in the PWHL Draft. So, who\u2019s going to score goals next season?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each nation’s reporters have a slightly different approach when it comes to press box etiquette in Foxborough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nInternational journalists walk a fine line at the World Cup. 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