Andrés Cantor Named 2020 Colin Jose Media Award Winner
Legendary Telemundo Deportes Broadcaster Will Be Honored at Next Year’s National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Frisco, Texas
FRISCO, Texas (Oct. 25, 2020) — Legendary soccer broadcaster Andrés Cantor has been named the recipient of the 2020 Colin Jose Media Award, which honors journalists whose careers have made significant long-term contributions to soccer in the United States. The Telemundo Deportes commentator received the news live from National Soccer Hall of Famer Tab Ramos on Sunday night during the network’s coverage of Chivas-Cruz Azul, which featured messages of support from a number of U.S. Soccer stars, Telemundo colleagues as well as Cantor’s friends and family.
Cantor will be honored at next year’s National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Frisco, Texas. The Ceremony will also feature the induction of Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductee Carlos Bocanegra, along with the to-be-determined Class of 2021.
Known the world over for his iconic “GOOOOOOL!” call, the award celebrates Cantor’s nearly 35-year career covering soccer at the highest level. The commentator has announced games for the last eight men’s FIFA World Cups, the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups and a number of Olympic Games dating back to 1984. Cantor is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for Telemundo Deportes.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cantor started his career in his native country before breaking onto the North American soccer scene in the run-up to the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Cantor has covered U.S. Soccer since the beginning of the USMNT’s modern era- he was the only Hispanic reporter on the sideline in Trinidad and Tobago in 1989 when the team qualified its first World Cup in more than 30 years. Cantor continued to rise to prominence in the United States with the 1994 World Cup on home soil and took the honorary “first kick” for Major League Soccer when the league launched in 1996. He’s been on the mic for some of U.S. Soccer’s most memorable moments, such as Landon Donovan’s iconic goal vs. Algeria at the 2010 World Cup and Carli Lloyd’s hat trick in the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final.
“We are so proud and honored to play a role in presenting the 2020 Colin Jose Media Award to our own Andrés Cantor. To create this experience for him on-air is a testament to how much love and appreciation we all have for his work, his contributions to the network and his friendship,” said Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren. “Over the past 20 years, Andrés has played a pivotal role in shaping Telemundo’s world-class sports coverage, and we look forward to his continued success as part of Telemundo Deportes. No one is more deserving.”
Cantor is the first Spanish-language broadcaster to win the award, and the third commentator to be honored after JP Dellacamera in 2018 and Seamus Malin in 2005.
The Colin Jose Media Award was created to honor the contributions of members of the print and electronic media, including reporters, columnists, authors, broadcasters, editors, public/media relations professionals and others who specialize in communications with respect to soccer in the United States. The award is named for Colin Jose, Historian Emeritus of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the preeminent soccer historian of North America.
PAST COLIN JOSE MEDIA AWARD RECIPIENTS
- 2020 – Andrés Cantor, Telemundo Deportes and other television broadcasters
- 2019 - Tony Quinn, Photojournalist
- 2018 - JP Dellacamera, FOX and other television broadcasters
- 2017 - Jim Trecker, Media Relations
- 2016 - Paul Kennedy, Soccer America Print Media
- 2013 - George Vecsey, New York Times Print Media
- 2012 - Grahame Jones, Los Angeles Times Print Media
- 2010 - Paul Gardner, Soccer America Print Media
- 2009 - Alex Yannis, New York Times Print Media
- 2008 - Ike Kuhns, Newark Star-Ledger Print Media
- 2007 - George Tiedemann, Sports Illustrated/Freelance Photography
- 2005 - Seamus Malin, ESPN and other television broadcasters
- 2004 - Jerry Trecker, Hartford Courant Print Media