Two new quarterly soccer magazines -- Eight by Eight and Howler -- are "hoping that enthusiasm generated by the approaching 2014 World Cup will help create a readership that will endure for years afterward," according to Timothy Pratt of the N.Y. TIMES. But even with modest starts, the "pedigree of the founders of Eight by Eight and Howler, with decades of experience in publishing pantheons like Esquire and National Geographic, suggests they represent the first attempt to create a niche genre aimed at a passionate audience." Eight by Eight introduced its first issue in Manhattan last month; Howler is a year old. Howler Founder & Editor George Quraishi said that the magazine "got its start with $69,000 from Kickstarter and 'pretty sizable' support through advertising by Nike and beIN Sport." The magazine "has published three issues, with the fourth coming in early January, and Mr. Quraishi said subscriptions, which cost $50, are approaching 5,000 and increasing with each issue." Howler is a "large-format publication that sends writers to locations like Mexico and Rome in search of long-form articles; Eight by Eight’s first issue splashes bright illustrations across many of its pages." Meanwhile, a third publication, XI, is "struggling to put out a fourth issue." It is "smaller in size, almost academic and focused solely on North America" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/30).
