JOHN STRONG BIO

John Strong is FOX Sports’ lead soccer play-by-play announcer. He is the voice of many of the biggest matches FOX Sports has to offer across several premier soccer properties, including the FIFA World Cup™, Major League Soccer (MLS), Concacaf Gold Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup, CONMEBOL Copa America™, UEFA EURO™, UEFA Women’s EURO™ and more.

Strong and former USMNT midfielder Stu Holden most recently served as the network’s lead play-by-play announcer and analyst, respectively, for FOX Sports’ acclaimed coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. The pair returned after garnering critical acclaim for their lead calls with FOX at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. The Strong-Holden broadcast booth pairing has called over 450 soccer matches together since 2014 — more than any other English-language television duo. Strong also called matches from the Land Down Under for FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.

Strong joined the FOX Soccer Channel in August 2012, while still calling the Portland Timbers and working soccer broadcasts at NBC. In 2015, Strong went full time with FOX Sports as a play-by-play announcer for its coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada™, MLS, FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers and other international soccer events. He’s since been a fixture across FOX Sports’ soccer portfolio, and has contributed to other properties, including serving from 2020-2026 as FOX Sports’ play-by-play announcer at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Masters Agility Championship and host of the daytime Best of Breed competition. 

Strong has regularly contributed to the network’s coverage of the Concacaf Champions League and Concacaf Women’s World Cup Qualifying. He has called various U.S. soccer friendlies, including the USMNT’s "Dos A Cero" victory against Mexico in April 2015 and was the lead play-by-play voice for four seasons of the UEFA Europa League (2013-2016) and called two UEFA Champions League finals in 2017 and 2018. Strong also hosted studio coverage for FOX Sports’ presentation of the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, as well as whip-around UEFA Champions League show "MultiMatch 90." Before joining FOX Sports, Strong served as lead play-by-play announcer for MLS on NBC Sports and as a fill-in host for the network’s studio coverage of the Barclays Premier League.

Strong was previously the radio and television voice of the MLS’ Portland Timbers, with many of those telecasts appearing on FOX Sports Northwest. During the 2011 season, his call of a goal by the Timbers’ Darlington Nagbe was named MLS "Broadcast Call of the Year" and had nearly 2 million YouTube views. In 2012, Strong was honored as the Oregon Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sports Writers Association.

A graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, Strong recently received the Eric Allen Award as Outstanding Young Alumni. He was active at Oregon’s campus station KWVA, where he called University of Oregon women’s soccer, softball and lacrosse. Strong began his broadcast career in high school where he founded Laker Broadcasting for Lake Oswego High School and called football and basketball games. Last spring he was inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Honor. 

Strong was born and raised in Portland, where he still lives with his wife, Nicole, two kids, and several pets. His wife played soccer at Washington State, competed at the 2009 Women’s Copa Libertadores, and was the 2011 WPSL Golden Boot winner with the Portland Rain.