The number 9, commonly known as Ronaldo "Il Fenomeno", was supposed to stay for only a few minutes but would soon become the king of the stage. But unlike the usual press conference attended by journalists, this time it was different. On stage, there was the world champion, Ronaldo, but the stars of the day were the 82 journalists from all over the world who were waiting for their own trophy to be handed to them by the legend, who wore his big trademark smile throughout.
Journalists on the Podium is a unique tradition of celebrating longevity in sports journalism created by AIPS. In Qatar, a new edition of Journalists on the Podium was organised in collaboration with FIFA, to celebrate those journalists that have at least covered 8 men’s World Cups.
“It is important to remember our work and to recognise the commitment of all our colleagues, which is why in previous years we created this event during all the important sporting events,” said AIPS President Gianni Merlo. “And at every time, our colleagues have appreciated this initiative, which recognises the vitality of our profession and also celebrates its independence, an essential pillar of our work,” he added.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined the ceremony with a recorded message to the audience. He congratulated all the men and women that have covered, broadcast and written about the FIFA World Cup over the years.
“Today is a very special day. It’s a very special day because we recognise some of you who have a very special track record” said Infantino. “I am as Fifa president eternally grateful to all of you. I hope one day I can come close to your record” he added. “I would like to compliment and congratulate you and I hope to see you all for the next 17 World Cups as well,” he concluded
If covering a FIFA World Cup is a rare privilege for any sports journalist, imagine covering more than 8. Some of them are legends, like Enrique Macaya Márquez, the Argentinian that holds the record of 17 World Cups, having covered the first one in Sweden 1958. With him, there also was German Hartmut Scherzer (16 World Cups) and Uruguayan Jorge Toto Da Silveira (15). AIPS Mentor Keir Radnedge reached 14, alongside Jacques Vendroux (France) and Jesús Vélez Vanegas (Honduras).
Journalists on the Podium was born in August 2012 and the small replica of the 2012 London Olympic torch was presented to more than 100 veteran journalists, each of whom had covered 10 Olympic Games or more.
Here in Doha, for one hour, one by one, all the journalists received a small replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy and then were invited to a cocktail.
The stars were them. Their hard work deserved this important recognition.
The full list of journalists that were commemorated is as follows:
1 - Enrique Macaya Márquez, (Argentina) - Freelancer - 17
2 - Hartmut Scherzer, (Germany) - Freelancer - 16
3 - Jorge Da Silveira, (Uruguay) - Radio Cristal - 15
4 - Jacques Vendroux, (France) - Europe 1 - 14
5 - Jesús Vélez Vanegas, (Honduras) - La Tribuna - 14
6 - Keir Radnedge, (United Kingdom) - World Sports Service - 14
7 - Osumi Yoshiyuki, (Japan) - Freelancer -13
8 - Alfonso Arévalo Aranibar, (Bolivia) - Freelancer - 12
9 - Pedro Ernesto Gravida, (Brazil) - Radio Gaucha, Grupo RBS - 12
10 - Galvao Bueno, (Brazil) - TV Globo - 12
11 - Carlos Antonio Velez Naranjo, (Colombia) - RCN Radio y TV - 12
12 - Kazuyoshi Shimizu, (Japan) - Photo Kishimoto sports agency - 12
13 - Enrique Bermúdez de la Serna, (Mexico) - TELEVISA - 12
14 - Jaap de Groot, (Netherlands) – Freelancer - 12
15 - Dariusz Szpakowski, (Poland) - POLISH TELEVISION - 12
16 - Sergio Gorzyczanski, (Uruguay) – VTV - 12
17 - Alberto Kesman, (Uruguay) - Canal 12 Teledoce (UY) - 12
18 - Jorge Barraza, (Argentina) - Win Sports Televisión - 11
19 - Sergio Renato Dovio, (Argentina) - Freelancer - 11
20 - José Antonio Fernando Nürnberg, (Bolivia) - Facetas Deportivas - 11
21 - Osires Batista Nadal, (Brazil) - Rádio Lagoa Dourada FM.105.9 - 11
22 - Juca Kfouri, (Brazil) - UOL - 11
23 - Liu Zhankun, (China) - China News Service - 11
24 - Henry Jiménez Astudillo, (Colombia) - RCN Radio en Bogotá - 11
25 - Henri Szwarc, (France) - STARFACE/POLARIS IMAGES - 11
26 - Gregor Derichs, (Germany) - German Press Agency - 11
27 - Norio Rokukawa, (Japan) - Office La Strada Tokyo Japan - 11
28 - Shigeki Sugiyama, (Japan) - Freelancer - 11
29 - Kyoji Imai, (Japan) – Freelancer – 11
30 - Horacio Pagani, (Argentina) – Clarín, Canal 9 – 10
31 - Sergio Levinsky, (Argentina) - Diario Jornada de Mendoza - 10
32 - Daniel Arcucci, (Argentina) - La Nación / ESPN - 10
33 - Éder Luiz, (Brazil) - Radio Transamerica Brasil - 10
34 - Eraldo Leite, (Brazil) - Radio Globo - 10
35 - Oscar Munévar Forero, (Colombia) - Caracol Radio - 10
36 - César Augusto Londoño, (Colombia) - Caracol Radio Colombia - 10
37 - Jose Luis Alarcón Rojas, (Colombia) - Diario el Frente - 10
38 - Pier Giorgio Giavelli, (Italy) - Best Photo Agency - 10
39 - Emanuela Audisio, (Italy) - La Repubblica - 10
40 - Shinji Akagi, (Japan) - Far East Press, Tokyo - 10
41 - Etsuo Hara, (Japan) - World Football - 10
42 - Youssef Berjaoui, (Lebanon) - Assafir (online) - 10
43 - Fernando Schwartz, (México) - FOX SPORTS - 10
44 - Carlos Muñoz, (Uruguay) – ESPN – 10
45 - Fernando González Roth, (Spain) / (Uruguay) – Freelancer - 9
46 - Juan José Panno, (Argentina) - Diario Página 12 - 9
47 - Jorge Rodriges, (Brazil) - Conmebol - 9
48 - João Estevan Ramalho Neto, (Brazil) - Globo TV - 9
49 - Luis Roberlo de Mucio, (Brazil) - TV Glovo - 9
50 - Wellington Campos, (Brazil) - Radio Itatiaia - 9
51 - Rumen Paytashev, (Bulgaria) – FREELANCER - 9
52 - Paolo Nucci, (Italy) – Foto Nucci Photo Agency - 9
53 - Donatella Scarnati, (Italy) – Rai - 9
54 - Claudio Villa, (Italy) - Getty - 9
55 - Kazuhito Yamada, (Japan) - Kaz Photography - 9
56 - Ibikunle O. Solaja, (Nigeria) - Sports Village Square - 9
57 - Mark Gleeson, (South Africa) - Content Company - 9
58 - José Antonio Pascual Álvaro, (Spain) - EFE Deportes - 9
59 - Mitch Phillips, (United Kingdom) - Reuters - 9
60 - Shaun Botterill, (United Kingdom) - Getty - 9
61 - Javier De León, (Uruguay) - El Nuevo Rionegrense (prensa) - 9
62 - Antonio Carrasco Candelas, (Venezuela) / (Spain) - Ranking 100.7 Fm - 9
63 - Ezequiel Fernández Moores, (Argentina) – Freelancer – 9
64 - Daniel Wainstein, (Argentina) - MARCA - 8
65 - Ricardo Capriotti, (Brazil) – Freelancer - 8
66 - Leandro Cordero, (Costa Rica) - RADIO COLUMBIA CR - 8
67 - Vincent Amalvy, (France) – AFP - 8
68 - Günter Klein, (Germany) - Merkur.de - 8
69 - Karlheinz Wild, (Germany) – Kicker - 8
70 - Tsutomu Kishimoto, (Japan) – PICSPORT - 8
71 - Kumi Kinohara, (Japan) – Freelancer - 8
72 - Yukinori Takechi, (Japan) - Nikkei Inc. - 8
73 - Satoshi Ushio, (Japan) - The Asahi Shimbun - 8
74 - Bozena Szmel-Gowarzewska, (Poland) - FUJI FOOTBALL ENCYCLOPEDIA - 8
75 - Joaquín Maroto, (Spain) - Diario As - 8
76 - Orfeo Suarez, (Spain) - Diario EL MUNDO - 8
77 - Cristina Cubero, (Spain) - El Mundo Deportivo - 8
78 - Juan C. Scelza, (Uruguay) - Radio Oriental - 8
79 - Javier M. Goñi, (Uruguay) - Radio Oriental - 8
80 - Grant Wahl, (USA) – Freelancer - 8
81 - Daniel Chapela Iglesias, (Venezuela) - FDP Radio - 8
82 - Seinosuke Takechi, (Japan) - Sei Sto Press - 8
