According to the commissioning editor of Matador Network, “we are closed to freelance pitches probably through mid-Dec, with the exception of World Cup/Soccer pitches.” According to their pitch form, “Matador is covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a big way, and we're looking for stories from freelancers to round out our coverage. We're looking for coverage relating to 
- World Cup logistics (booking tickets, navigating stadiums, going to fan fests, etc)
- World Cup travel to specific cities 
- General soccer/fandom pitches
- Articles around host cities for which we have less content than others (see: Monterrey, Guadalajara, Toronto, Kansas City, etc.”
They pay $200-300 for articles of 1,100 words. See the pitch call here and the pitch form is here.