ECU communication alumna captures 360-degree World Cup experience

East Carolina University alumna Jamison Baile ’23 stood with a 360 camera behind the goal where Argentina’s Lionel Messi broke the record for the most FIFA World Cup goals when he scored against Austria at Dallas Stadium on June 22.

“That was probably the most exciting so far,” Baile said. “The fans were insane. There’s nothing like it I’ve ever been to.”

Jamison Baile ’23 worked in social media at the launch of the ECU Sports Network after ECU chose Playfly Sports as its multimedia rights holder for athletics in 2022.

Baile holds a bachelor’s degree in communication with a public relations concentration. For the last month, she has been stationed in Arlington, Texas, outside Dallas, working as a 360-camera operator for Host Broadcast Services (HBS), the broadcast team for FIFA, the international soccer governing body.

She worked with the same company last year in Charlotte, capturing digital content for FIFA Club World Cup matches as the organization looked to hire more digital creators. She was asked back for this year’s World Cup matches if she could locate in one of the host cities. Dallas was the winner, with many matches making the job worthwhile and a family friend living near Dallas who could host Baile for the month.

Baile uses a 360 camera — a camera that captures footage in all directions at once — to capture player arrivals and locker room footage, fans celebrating around the stadium and in the stands, and field play. She chooses one half to set up behind one of the goals — and can’t move for the entire half — then uses the other half to roam the stadium for content. While she hadn’t used the 360 technology before, she said HBS set up creators for success, providing a run-of-show practice with youth clubs before the World Cup matches started.

“That’s cool for the kids to be able to do it, and allows us to get our feet wet before diving into the World Cup experience,” Baile said. “I did get the hang of it pretty quick. They were great with their feedback; that made it seamless trying something new.”

One of Baile’s other new and memorable moments was experiencing the Netherlands “Oranje” double-decker bus and fan walk to the stadium ahead of the first Dallas match against Japan on June 14. Thousands of Netherlands fans wore orange and surrounded the bus as they marched to the stadium, welcoming Japan fans into their pre-game tradition.

“Seeing it in person and seeing the double-decker bus made such a big impact,” she said. “No other nation has done anything like that in Dallas so far.”

Baile is based in Charlotte, working as the social media manager for the Girls Academy soccer league, and doing so while she films World Cup content. Before that, she worked in social media and digital marketing for Carolina Ascent FC and Anthem Rugby; she worked on the launch of the rugby team.

While at ECU, Baile also helped launch the social media for the ECU Sports Network after ECU chose Playfly Sports as its multimedia rights holder for athletics in 2022.

Jamison Baile ’23 is working as a 360-camera operator for all FIFA World Cup 2026 matches at Dallas Stadium in Texas. (Contributed photos)

“I am a big sports fan,” said Baile, who played lacrosse in high school. “A lot of our family is in the sporting side of things.”

While Baile has never played much soccer — other than eating orange slices on the sidelines as a small child — she said it’s her favorite and is in awe at providing World Cup content three years after graduation.

“If I’m still in this space, on the fast-paced side of things, the 2031 Women’s World Cup would be on my bucket list,” she said. “Women’s sports is definitely my niche; that’s why I joined the Girls Academy league, building up from the youth level. Hopefully I’ll see them play for the women’s national team.”

Baile also returns to ECU as much as possible, calling it a “family school” as grandparents and other family also attended. Her cousin, Maggie Baile, works in University Advancement. Once a year the family tries to meet in Greenville for an ECU football game, and Baile returned in 2024 to speak about sports marketing with ECU’s American Marketing Association chapter.

Her advice to other students is to “say yes to everything” and take a chance on themselves. When Baile saw the ECU Sports Network job listed with internship opportunities, she had never done anything like it, with an interest in social media, but an education in public relations.

“There were other people with more sports experience, but I applied anyway and I ended up hearing back,” she said. “I took a chance on myself, which I didn’t tend to do, but now I tend to do a lot of.

“If I didn’t say yes to working with three teams at once, I don’t know if I’d be at the World Cup level. Any experience at all is always worth it.”

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