10-Part Collaboration with Telemundo Deportes Begins June 14 & Debuts New Multiplatform Episodes on Wednesdays Leading Up to Tournament
Series Features Soccer Stars Janelly Farías & Meghan Klingenberg as Spanish- & English-language Co-Hosts Alongside Journalist Eric Alvarez
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NEW YORK – (June 1, 2023) – Beginning June 14, Telemundo and NBC owned stations will present a new season of the award-winning bilingual podcast My New Favorite Futbolista/Mi Mundialista Favorita profiling the most-inspiring FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ stars. The 10-part audio and video series is produced in partnership with Telemundo Deportes, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, which begins July 20.
My New Favorite Futbolista will feature a pair of soccer stars –Janelly Farías and Meghan Klingenberg– as co-hosts alongside LX News journalist Eric Alvarez, who returns to the podcast after leading the eight-part series that preceded the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Farías will serve as the Spanish-language co-host, with Klingenberg co-hosting the English version. Alvarez will co-host in both languages. Each episode will also feature local reporters from NBC and Telemundo owned stations in markets connected to the athletes to lead the storytelling.
My New Favorite Futbolista provides in-depth narratives covering emerging and established international soccer stars who display passion and commitment off the field by helping others, advocating for change and supporting causes important to their communities. The featured athletes are expected to represent their countries in the 32-team tournament in Australia and New Zealand this summer. Each 15 to 20-minute episode focuses on a different player or players and includes interviews with the athletes, experts and those closest to them, including family members.
My New Favorite Futbolistaincludes two first-time partners this season to reach more audiences. Lemonada Media, the award-winning podcast network that ‘makes life suck less,’ is the exclusive audio sales and distribution partner for this season.On Her Turf is NBC Sports’ multiplatform women’s empowerment brand focused on the athletes and issues surrounding women’s sports.
“These are elite athletes who have worked their entire lives for a chance to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage, and they are such distinct individuals with unique personal stories and passions,” said Farías. “I’m proud to be a part of this podcast that highlights who they are as people and community members and to help encourage others to support causes important to them.”
Faríascurrently plays in Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil for C.F. Pachuca and previously competed for Club América and C.D. Guadalajara. Born in Santa Ana, Calif., she has represented Mexico internationally, including in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship. The defender played collegiately for the University of California, Irvine, and began her senior career with the San Diego SeaLions of the Women’s Premier Soccer League and L.A. Galaxy OC of United Women’s Soccer.
“The remarkable stories of resilience, compassion and dedication behind these world-class competitors are inspirational,” said Klingenberg. “It’s been a true pleasure to contribute to this project and help showcase the powerful impact athletes can have as role models and leaders. I can’t wait to see them perform on the field this summer and cheer for their continued success off the field.”
Klingenberg won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup as a member of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and was named to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup All-Star Team and 2015 FIFA FIFPro Women’s World XI. She has 74 total USWNT appearances, including in the 2016 Olympics. The Pittsburgh native is in her eighth season with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns FC, where she has won 2022 and 2017league titles. She played collegiately for the University of North Carolina.
Co-host Alvarez, a second-time contributor to the podcast franchise, joined LX News in 2021 as a show host. He has nearly 15 years of experience covering news, entertainment and sports for TV and radio outlets in Spanish and English. Alvarez, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, is an avid soccer fan who has attended three FIFA World Cups.
My New Favorite Futbolistais the fourth season of an award-winning franchise. Known during its first two seasons asMy New Favorite Olympian, the series launched in June 2021 with a five-episode first season leading up to Tokyo 2020, which was hosted Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and LX News’ Ngozi Ekeledo. A seven-episode second season hosted by Ekeledo and Olympic legend Apolo Ohno preceded Beijing 2022. Alvarez was joined by Colombian soccer legend Juan Pablo Ángel for the eight-episode third season starting in November 2022, then brandedMy New Favorite Futbolista.
The first three seasons of the podcast franchise have earned several awards and accolades.My New Favorite Futbolistawas recently named ‘Best Spoken Word Series’ at the 2023 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards and was a finalist for ‘Best Soccer Podcast’ at the 2023 Sports Podcast Awards. In 2022, My New Favorite Olympianwon Signal Awards for ‘Best Limited Sports Series’ and ‘Best LGBTQ+ Episode’ for its season covering the 2022 Winter Olympics. The first season of the series was also named ’Best Podcast Series’ as part of the 2022 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards.
Where to Listen & Watch:
- My New Favorite Futbolistawill be available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple,Stitcher,Spotify,Google Podcasts,TuneInandiHeart
- Video versions of each episode will be presented on NBC and Telemundo owned stations’ digital platforms and linear channels, including their 24/7 local news streaming channels, as well as LX News, TeleXitos and Peacock
- Content will also be featured on NBC Sports Regional Networks’ platforms
- Listeners can subscribe to the series here
My New Favorite Futbolistaepisodes:
Episode 1 – June 14 – Crystal Dunn: Soccer’s Super Mom
- Athlete: Crystal Dunn,United States
- Reporter:Ashley Chaparro, NBC 4 & Telemundo 47 New York (English & Spanish)
- The USWNT’s Crystal Dunn, who returned to soccer less than four months after giving birth to her son Marcel Jean, shares how she juggles her career and motherhood
Episode 2 – June 14 – Rocky Rodriguez’s Complicated American Dream
- Athlete:Rocky Rodriguez,Costa Rica
- Reporter:Valeria Aponte Feliciano, NBC10 & Telemundo62 Philadelphia (English & Spanish)
- Costa Rica’s Raquel “Rocky” Rodríguez, the 2016 NWSL Rookie of the Year, faced unexpected obstacles when she decided to immigrate to the U.S.
Episode 3 – June 21 – Becky Sauerbrunn: Team USA’s Moral Compass
- Athlete:Becky Sauerbrunn,United States
- Reporters:Hector Lozano, Telemundo Chicago (Spanish);Leila Rahimi, NBC Chicago (English)
- USWNT’s Becky Sauerbrunn describes herself as an introvert, but proudly advocates for causes she finds important, from trans inclusion to gender equity
Episode 4 – June 21 – Soccer’s Silent Superstar Christine Sinclair Opens Up
- Athlete:Christine Sinclair, Canada
- Reporters:Max Cordaro, Telemundo 48 Area de la Bahía (Spanish);Tara Slone, NBC Sports Bay Area (English)
- Canada’s Christine Sinclair, the all-time international goal leader, has always let her play do the talking, but now she opens up about gender equality, multiple sclerosis, and more
Episode 5 – June 28 – Team USA’s Sofia Huerta and Ashley Sanchez: Am I Mexican enough?
- Athletes:Ashley SanchezandSofia Huerta,United States
- Reporter:Annabelle Sedano, NBC4 & Telemundo 52 Los Angeles (English & Spanish)
- Sofia Huerta and Ashley Sanchez, who are poised to be the only two Mexican Americans to represent the U.S. at the World Cup, are grappling with their hybrid identities
Episode 6 – June 28 – Estefanía Banini: The ‘Female Messi’ Fighting for Women’s Equality
- Athlete:Estefanía Banini, Argentina
- Reporter:Isa Echeverri, former pro and Colombia defender
- Argentina’s Estefanía Banini, who is nicknamed the “female Messi,” is using her platform to advocate for equality for female soccer players in Latin America
Episode 7 – July 12 – Naomi Girma: Embracing Ethiopian American Roots
- Athlete:Naomi Girma, United States
- Reporters:Darnay Tripp, NBC 7 San Diego (English);Rigo Villalobos, Telemundo 20 San Diego (Spanish)
- Naomi Girma, the first player of Ethiopian descent on the U.S. Women’s National Team, hopes to make it easier for first-generation Americans to excel in their endeavors
Episode 8 – July 12 – Marta Cox Picks Up the Pieces After Losing Her Mother
- Athlete:Marta Cox, Panama
- Reporters:Roxy Vargas, NBC 6 & Telemundo 51 Miami (English & Spanish)
- Panamanian midfielder Marta Cox, who recently lost her mother unexpectedly, finds ways to keep her mother’s memory alive on the pitch
Episode 9 – July 19 – How Sophia Smith Strengthens Her Mental Health
- Athlete:Sophia Smith, United States
- Reporter:Abbey Fernandez, NBC Bay Area & Telemundo 48 Area de la Bahía (English & Spanish)
- Sophia Smith, the reigning NWSL MVP, has become an advocate for student-athlete mental health after losing her best friend and Stanford teammate Katie Meyer to suicide
Episode 10 – July 19 – How Teenage Phenom Linda Caicedo Overcame Ovarian Cancer
- Athlete:Linda Caicedo, Colombia
- Reporter:Jesús Quiñonez, NBC 10 Boston & Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra (English & Spanish)
- 18-year-old Colombian forward Linda Caicedo, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was just 15, is now one of the sport’s most electric goal scorers.
About Telemundo Station Group
The Telemundo Station Group, part of NBCUniversal Local division, includes 31 local Telemundo owned stations. The stations deliver Spanish-speaking audiences in the U.S. and Puerto Rico the very best local news, weather, consumer and investigative reporting, and lifestyle entertainment across any platform and screen. The station group also operates TeleXitos, a Spanish-language multicast network that delivers action-adventure television series and movies without subtitles.
About NBC Owned Television Stations
NBC Owned Television Stations, part of the NBCUniversal Local division of NBCUniversal, includes 12 local broadcast television stations and a regional news network serving the largest markets in the nation, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami-Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, Hartford, CT and Puerto Rico. The stations deliver local news, weather, investigative and consumer reporting to the communities they serve across multiple platforms. The NBC Owned Television Stations group also operates LXTV, a lifestyle production company, NBCUniversal Skycastle, a marketing and promotions company, and COZI TV, a national network that delivers viewers some of America’s most beloved and iconic television shows and hit movies.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Brian Potter
Brian.Potter@nbcuni.com
