Retiring USWNT star Sam Mewis to lead Men in Blazers’ new women’s vertical

Mewis (l) is joining the Men in Blazers Media Network as editor-in-chief of its new women’s soccer verticalMen in Blazers Media Network

Roger Bennett, co-founder and star personality of the Men in Blazers Media Network, was in awe of Sam Mewis’ performance during the U.S. women’s national team’s run to its 2019 World Cup title. He was even more stunned when Mewis told him during an interview afterward that she had to go improve her game. 

“I remember getting off that interview,” Bennett said. “She’s just been the most dominant player in the World Cup — why is she improving her game? She works so bloody hard, focusing obsessively on things she wants to improve. Ultimately, she can do whatever she sets her mind to.” 

Now, Bennett is banking on Mewis bringing that same tenacity to the next phase of her career.  

Mewis, who announced her retirement from soccer this morning due to ongoing knee injury issues, is joining the Men in Blazers as editor-in-chief of its new vertical focused on women’s soccer. Called “The Women’s Game,” the content capsule will provide holistic coverage of the sport, going beyond just the U.S. women’s national team and NWSL to highlight European leagues and other international competitions. Mewis will oversee the development of cross-platform programming, including podcasts, live streams, watch-alongs, newsletters and other multimedia content. 

Mewis, who is represented by Remy Cherin at Remington Ellis, isn’t a total newcomer to Men in Blazers. Men in Blazers recruited the former U.S. Soccer female player of the year to headline its coverage of last summer’s Women’s World Cup. Mewis hosted daily podcasts and live Twitch streams during late-night matches throughout the World Cup that racked up 2.5 million viewers. 

“Sam has this incredible ability to help an audience know what it feels like to be an elite footballer,” Bennett said. “We’re watching Spain and she’d be like, ‘Oh my God, when we played Spain in 2019, the opening 15 minutes it just overwhelmed us — you’re playing panicked football just trying to hang on.’ She described it so beautifully, and the audience were thrilled.” 

During this time, Mewis began to perceive a void in the media ecosystem for global coverage of women’s soccer. She pitched Bennett on the idea for a full-fledged women’s soccer vertical shortly after the World Cup. 

“I just saw that there was so much room to grow and to cover the Spanish league and the French league and international soccer across the board and the women’s Champions League,” Mewis said. “The idea was to mirror what Rog and Men in Blazers have done for the men’s side with that kind of extensive coverage on the women’s side, and this was the place I felt like that was possible.” 

Mewis got her start in digital media in 2021, launching a podcast for the Just Women’s Sports network called “Snacks” with her best friend and U.S. national teammate Lynn Williams. Williams, still an active player for the national team and NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL, is also joining Mewis at Men in Blazers as the first of several forthcoming contributor hires for “The Women’s Game.” 

The vertical will begin with a weekly podcast with first guests including U.S. captain Lindsey Horan, Barcelona and England star Lucy Bronze, U.S. national team and West Ham player Kristie Mewis (Sam’s sister), U.S. World Cup winners Mal Swanson and Crystal Dunn and former England star Jill Scott. 

Bennett said Men in Blazers — through its sales agency CSM — will now seek out brands looking to reach a women’s soccer-specific audience through sponsorship of the new vertical. Meanwhile, Mewis is already hard at work learning the ropes of the digital media business. 

“I’m helping book guests, I’m writing rundowns for the interviews, I’m doing practice run-throughs with my producer, we’re having strategy meetings with Rog and other hosts in the network,” Mewis said. “So, it’s really been a full extensive education on the whole company, the whole job.”