A series of unexpected decisions led Megan Feringa ’19 to the world’s biggest sporting stage.

By Mallorie McCoy

When Gareth Bale scored his legendary free kick to send the Wales men’s professional soccer team to their first World Cup appearance in 64 years, it was a moment that UK soccer fans would never forget. That includes Megan Feringa ’19, a women’s football reporter for ReachPLC in Cardiff, Wales, U.K.

Witnessing the historic moment was one thing, but being able to write about it was an even bigger victory from Feringa’s journalistic perspective. Her journey was anything but ordinary.

At Auburn, Feringa was a student of many interests, which resulted in several changes in her major. Going from astronomy to biology and a few others in between, she settled on journalism to graduate on time.

“I didn’t choose journalism so much as I didn’t want to do a fifth year of college,” said Feringa.

Feringa was first exposed to sports writing while interning for Auburn Magazine. After writing a story on Auburn basketball’s Final Four debut, Feringa knew she had found something special.

“I think that gave me my first little taste of sports journalism,” said Feringa. “And then I started thinking, ‘why haven’t I done this before’.”

After graduating, she set out to Wales, U.K. in November 2019 with the intention of getting a master’s degree in journalism, never intending to call the new country home. While attending her first professional soccer game, Feringa felt the same spark she once did at Auburn while reporting on the Tigers. The camaraderie of the fans and excitement of the game made her want to pursue this unexpected profession.

“I called my parents afterward and told them, ‘This is the coolest sport I’ve ever taken in. This is incredible.’”

With COVID-19 hitting Europe and the rest of the world in January 2020, Feringa’s new career plans were put on pause. She had never played soccer, but she dove into the world of European football while in quarantine.

Studying the history of the game, making flashcards on players and consistently reading sports articles helped Feringa establish a well-rounded understanding of the game. During the 14-month pandemic stretch in Wales, she began pitching stories to “random places.” She eventually received an opportunity to write on Welsh football, and her career flourished from there.

“The WSL is just now getting really big, so I’m sort of getting to ride that wave,” said Feringa. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to write about the WSL and the growth of it and interviewing those players.”

“I love that sports can make people feel things that are usually like so existential and transcendent.”

However, being a stranger in a foreign country during a global pandemic came with its obstacles. Although Feringa would not describe that period of time as hard, it had its own challenges.

“I went 14 to 15 months without seeing my family, and that was during a global pandemic,” she said. “I was in this constant uncertainty about where my life would end up and how I was going to get home.”

Now that the pandemic has passed, Feringa has become familiar with the country’s customs and traditions over the past two years—especially the Welsh people’s love for European football. “I love that sports can make people feel things that are usually like so existential and transcendent.”

As an athletic child who played basketball, some volleyball and ran track, she is familiar with all the emotions felt within a game. Yet growing up not playing soccer has given Feringa somewhat of an advantage as a journalist. As of late, she predominantly writes for the Women’s Super League (WSL) football teams, and the sport stays exciting as she continues to learn something new from every article.

“The WSL is just now getting really big, so I’m sort of getting to ride that wave,” said Feringa. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to write about the WSL and the growth of it and interviewing those players.”

Even though Feringa is invested in her journalism career, there was a time when she had no idea what her future would look like. Throughout high school and college, Feringa said she never had a firm idea of what she wanted to do with her life.

“I think, before Wales, I didn’t really have much of a definition about my future,” said Feringa. “For me, now, my dream is to hopefully finish a book about Welsh football in the coming future.”