AP’s photo and video teams are preparing for one of the largest visual operations in the tournament’s history. With 104 matches, AP photographers will be at every game, with multiple photographers assigned to each match and remote editing designed to move images within minutes, and ideally seconds.
Tony Hicks, AP’s deputy director of photography for sports, said match coverage will remain central, but daily visual storytelling will also include training sessions, fans, city scenes, photo galleries and key moments that break out from the tournament.
Video coverage will focus heavily on the atmosphere around the tournament. Nebojsa Khenna, AP’s deputy director for video and U.S. news, said AP will prioritize live coverage from host cities, stadium exteriors, fan zones, watch parties and team base camps.
Because AP is a non-rights holder, video coverage will focus on what happens outside stadiums rather than live match play.
Actionable recommendations
Build daily visual plans around match coverage, fan reactions and city atmosphere.
Use AP photo galleries for quick curation of the day’s strongest images.
Pair video from fan zones with match recaps to capture real-time emotion.
Questions for leaders
Are we using visuals to show the scale and emotion of the tournament?
How can our coverage reflect both the match and the community around it?
