FOX Sports Announces Roundtable Series Featuring Global and U.S. Soccer Legends Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

FOX Sports World Cup roundtable reveals Landon Donovan, Carli Lloyd in star lineup

James Okafor | GlobalBeat

FOX Sports unveiled a 12-episode roundtable series pairing U.S. icons Landon Donovan and Carli Lloyd with global greats Steven Gerrard and Lionel Messi ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The network will tape the first episode this week in Los Angeles for broadcast in August, kicking off monthly installments that run through the June 11, 2026 tournament opener at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.

The series lands as American soccer ratings explode, the men’s national team sits at a career-high No. 11 in FIFA rankings, and matches will be staged in 16 U.S. cities. FOX paid a record $425 million for English-language rights to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments and extended through 2026 in a deal valued near $200 million more.

“We wanted the locker-room conversation fans never get to hear,” FOX Sports executive producer David Neal told reporters Monday. The format plants eight players around one table, no moderator, 4K cameras circling as they debate penalty pressure, VAR calls and World Cup heartbreak. Episodes run 30 minutes, commercial-free, streaming first on Tubi before airing on FOX’s main channel.

Donovan and Lloyd headline every episode. Liverpool legend Gerrard and Argentine World Cup-winner Messi are confirmed for the opener, with Mia Hamm, David Beckham, Kaka and 1994 U.S. captain Tony Meola rotating in later editions. A separate Spanish-language table will feature Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Carli Lloyd’s former Lyon teammate Ada Hegerberg and 2010 Spain winner Xabi Alonso.

Neal said players receive “low six-figure” appearance fees plus a donation to a charity of their choice. Contracts bar them from disparaging any federation, but otherwise impose “zero editorial control.” He added: “We told them, ‘Say what you really think.’ If they want to roast a coach or defend VAR, that’s the show.”

Taping schedules sync with major U.S. soccer events. After Los Angeles, crews shift to September’s NYCFC- LAFC match, October’s U.S. women’s farewell in Cincinnati, November’s MLS Cup final and February’s Club World Cup in Morocco. Final episodes will be shot inside World Cup host stadiums once venues are match-ready next spring.

Sponsors are already queuing. Chevrolet signed on as founding partner, while Apple TV+ bought integration rights to plug its forthcoming Messi documentary. Advertising analytics firm iSpot projects the series will pull 2.3 million viewers per linear airing and another 6 million on Tubi, numbers that would make it the most-watched studio soccer program in U.S. history.

U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson welcomed the announcement. “Landon and Carli are generational voices,” Batson said. “Seeing them trade stories with Messi and Gerrard will hook casual fans four months before we kick off against whoever lands in Group A.” The federation plans viewing parties at World Cup host cities and will supply youth-clay coaches with classroom clips to speed grassroots registration.

Former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now lead studio analyst for FOX, said the series alters the network’s traditional playbook. “We usually build around matches,” Lalas told GlobalBeat. “This flips it, building around personalities while there are no games. Risky, but brilliant if the banter lands.” He hinted producers will mic the room with 24 channels so editors can splice alternate angles for social media within minutes of taping.

Background

FOX wrestled U.S. English-language World Cup rights from ESPN in 2011, gambling that American audiences would embrace soccer by 2018. Early returns were uneven: Russia 2018 averaged 2.9 million viewers on FOX, up 18 percent from ESPN’s 2014 mark yet below the 4 million guaranteed to advertisers. Qatar 2022 blew past projections when the U.S. men reached the knockout stage and Argentina’s Messi-Mbappé final drew 16.8 million, the most-watched men’s game in U.S. history.

Roundtable chat shows have driven soccer culture abroad for decades. BBC’s “Match of the Day” panel launched in 1964, Sky’s “Soccer Saturday” in 1992, while CBS Sports rotated Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards in its Champions League studio to viral effect. U.S. outlets tried copycats, ESPN’s “The Roots of Football” lasted one season in 2014 and NBC’s “Premier League Download” folded in 2017, both hampered by limited player access.

What’s Next

FOX must finalize guest lists for the final four episodes by December 1, before World Cup draw day, balancing federation demands for representation against viewer appetite for star power. Neal said the network will release episode trailers on Instagram Reels and TikTok within 72 hours of each taping, targeting 18-34-year-olds who now supply 42 percent of all U.S. World Cup social engagement.

If ratings hit projections, FOX intends to franchise the concept for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil and is already pitching global streamers on localized versions featuring retired icons from Europe, Africa and Asia.