My Experience covering th 26' FIFA World Cup as an independent journalist & my essentials!

I absolutely adore being the person who calls the shots, who always has the last word, being decisive and keeping my cool under pressure makes me invincible. I didn't wait to be invited, I made my own invitation, how? By taking over the world by myself. I worked a billion hours in all of my professions just to make sure that my project was there, in my biggest stage, the World Cup. My passion for journalism and especially football (as well as every single thing i write in my magazine) is (almost) bigger than the love that i have for myself, and i really adore myself (i mean how could i not? I'm fabulous! Like Charlotte York would say, im smart im pretty, im catch). Was it easy? Hell no, I worked an average of 16 hours a day for 7 months to have my voice in NYC, Boston & other cities. But was it worth it? Hell yeah, for those who know me, i only live for things I find intellectually stimulating, whether it’s something I report on, my friendships, my projects, everything, and it's fair to say, that after getting all of my degrees, solo travelling reporting on the things that i love, was the greatest decisions i have ever made, so here i’ll leave you a few tips on how to take on this amazing project (and of course you can count on me for one on one advice by sending me a dm, if you are my reader, that’s a given!)

Relying on a traditional newsroom to fund your vision isn’t job security—it’s an intellectual prison. When you accept their budget, you inherit their boring boundaries, their tired angles, and their tragic lack of taste. Create your boundaries and make your own risks.

Self-funding isn’t a financial compromise, my darlings. It’s the ultimate luxury item.

It’s the intoxicating power to declare that your mind is its own media empire—The Maison. When I bought my own tickets to cover global sports, legal subcultures, and pitch-side fashion, I didn’t just buy transit. I bought absolute creative autonomy. Nobody edits my hot takes, nobody dilutes my sociological lens, and nobody tells me my looks are “too much” for the press box, because I’m the press. Pick the starting XI (yourself), book the flight, score the goal, and keep the trophy.

To fund your own dispatch is the ultimate act of self-love. You’re betting everything on the single safest asset in the world: your own brilliance. Stop waiting for an invitation to a table built by people with half your vision.

Everyone sees the photograph. Nobody sees the person carrying three bags, two chargers, one microphone and an unreasonable amount of confidence. Welcome to solo coverage. When you're independent, “the team” can become a slightly ridiculous concept. Researcher? Me. Reporter? Me. Producer? Me. Camera? Also me. Transportation department? Unfortunately, me. The advantage is complete control. The disadvantage is discovering that you cannot simultaneously film yourself, conduct an interview, check your train schedule and answer an email. Well , actually you can, that’s why i’m spilling all of my secrets so you can do it too!

When every expense comes directly from your own pocket, every decision becomes editorial. Do I stay another night because there is another story? Do I pay for the train? Do I prioritize equipment or accommodation? Do I spend the money on getting closer to the story? Sometimes journalism is not about having unlimited resources. It is about knowing which resource matters most.

Plus, you acquire a superpower,  you become extraordinarily adaptable, you learn to arrive early, you learn to leave quietly, you learn to ask strangers for directions without looking terrified, you learn to record audio while pretending you absolutely know what you're doing and, most importantly, you learn to trust your own judgment.

Sport is never just sport. There is fashion, politics,class, migration,architecture, national identity, gender, collective memory, etc. The match is only one part of the spectacle. My job is to look at everything happening around it.

The most rewarding moments were rarely the perfectly planned ones. They were the conversations, the unexpected observation, the strange little detail that suddenly connected everything. That is why I travel, not to collect destinations, to collect questions and answers, as well as new unanswered questions i can take on later.

A few of my tips and tricks?

Charge everything.

Back everything up.

Know where you're going.

Leave enough time.

Keep emergency cash.

Write down the thought before it disappears.

And trust yourself enough to know when to stop.

There is something wonderfully absurd about being your own production company.

One minute you're conducting an interview, the next you're holding your phone against a wall because you've decided that it is now your tripod. Solo journalism has taught me that independence isn't always glamorous. Sometimes it's expensive. Sometimes you're carrying your entire professional life through an airport. But there is a strange beauty in knowing that every decision belongs to you.

And when the story works?

That feeling is incomparable.

The reality of being your own crew? It’s high-stakes performance art. I am the executive producer, the field reporter, the legal analyst, and the muse. It means filing 1,500 words of razor-sharp cultural commentary from the back of a 2 AM taxi without ruining my blow-dry.

It takes an unshakeable diva energy to command a room alone. But once you realize that one woman with total clarity, sleek gear, and a sharp intellect can out-report a bloated ten-person media crew, the illusion of legacy media shatters.

You don’t need a network backing you when you are the main event.Check the entire series here on my website!!