Experts available to aid media in covering World Cup

 

Four weeks. Thirty-two teams. Sixty-four games. One chance to hoist the world’s biggest soccer prize.

In less than a month, the eyes of sports fans will be turned to the World Cup soccer tournament, the world’s most-watched sporting event, which kicks off in South Africa on June 11. The World Cup is being played in Africa for the first time this year — a source of pride across the continent, which has six teams in the tournament.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has a number of experts who can discuss the politics of soccer internationally, African issues and politics, television ads during the tournament and the types of fields being used for the games.

• Michael G. Schatzberg, professor of political science; 608-263-2392, schatzberg@polisci.wisc.edu. Schatzberg is an expert on African politics and international relations and has researched the politics, economics and culture of soccer in Africa. He’ll be focused on games involving teams from the six African nations.
• Scott Straus, associate professor, political science, international studies; 608-263-2036, sstraus@wisc.edu. Strauss is an expert on African politics, human rights and civil war, and can discuss some of the underlying political issues on the continent. He’ll also be watching the progress of several African teams in the tournament, especially Cote d’Ivoire.
• John Stier, professor and chair of horticulture; affiliate, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies; 608-262-1624, jstier@wisc.edu. Stier is an expert on environmental issues related to turf, including sports fields. While working on his doctorate at Michigan State University, he managed the world’s first portable indoor/outdoor athletic field, which was used in the Pontiac Silverdome during the 1994 World Cup. He has worked as a consultant for growing grass inside a covered soccer stadium in La Plata, Argentina, and supervising the renovation of the field for Real Madrid. He can discuss field readiness for the World Cup and how field contractors are using perennial ryegrass, a cool-season turf more likely found in Wisconsin, than grasses native to Africa.
• Deborah Mitchell, faculty associate in the Wisconsin School of Business, 608-262-3409, dmitchell@bus.wisc.edu. Mitchell is executive fellow with the Center for Brand and Product Management in the Wisconsin School of Business and is an expert on branding, consumer psychology and consumer behavior. She’ll be tracking trends in marketing communications, including advertising, tied to the World Cup. Her blog can be found at thinkfeelsaydo.com.
• Robin Tanner, 608-265-3134, rtanner@bus.wisc.edu. Tanner is an assistant professor in the marketing department at the School of Business. He’s an expert in consumer choice and behavior and can speak to some aspects of the business of soccer. He’s also British and will be following the Three Lions (England’s national team).