Jenny Chiu

{{Short description|American soccer player and reporter (born 1995)}}

{{Infobox football biography

|name = Jenny Chiu

|image =

|image_size =

|alt =

|caption =

|full_name = Jenny Ana Chiu Amparán

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|09|25}}

|birth_place = El Paso, Texas, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|height = 5 ft 5 in

|position = Forward / midfielder

|youthyears1 =

|youthclubs1 =

|collegeyears1 = 2013–2016

|college1 = North Carolina

|collegecaps1 = 15

|collegegoals1 = 0

|years1 =

|clubs1 =

|caps1 =

|goals1 =

|totalcaps =

|totalgoals =

|nationalyears1 = 2012

|nationalteam1 = Mexico U-17

|nationalcaps1 = 5

|nationalgoals1 = 0

|nationalyears2 = 2014

|nationalteam2 = Mexico U-20

|nationalcaps2 = 0

|nationalgoals2 = 0

|medaltemplates =

}}

Jenny Ana Chiu Amparán (born September 25, 1995) is an American sports reporter and former soccer player. She has worked for CBS Sports since 2020. Born in the United States, she played internationally for the Mexico national under-17 team. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Early life and playing career

Chiu was born in El Paso, Texas, to Lorena and C.Y. Chiu.{{cite web|url=https://goheels.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/jenny-chiu/9190|title=Jenny Chiu – Women's Soccer|publisher=University of North Carolina Athletics|access-date=2023-11-21}} She is of Mexican and Chinese descent.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/jennyachiu/?hl=en|title=Jenny Chiu|publisher=Instagram|access-date=2023-11-12}} She has two brothers, one of whom, Andy, played college soccer for Akron.

After she showed promise in soccer at age eight, Chiu's father hired Salvador Mercado and Guillermo McFarlane to be her private coaches. She played on boys' teams and attracted national attention from scouts by age twelve. She was called up to train with the youth national teams of Mexico and the United States. She played one season of high school soccer as a sophomore at Franklin High School in El Paso.{{cite news|url=https://kvia.com/sports/2020/09/19/community-champion-former-el-paso-soccer-star-finds-success-as-soccer-television-reporter/|title=Community Champion: Former El Paso soccer star finds success as soccer television reporter|last=Ochoa|first=Adrian|date=2020-09-19|publisher=KVIA-TV|access-date=2023-11-12}} In April 2011, the website TopDrawerSoccer.com named her the top player from Texas.{{cite news|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/high-school/blogs/high-school-spotlight/2011/04/04/franklin-soccer-player-jenny-chiu/31519599/|title=Franklin soccer player Jenny Chiu|last=Chavez|first=Felix|date=2011-04-04|newspaper=El Paso Times|access-date=2023-11-21}} She verbally committed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in July 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/high-school/blogs/high-school-spotlight/2011/07/23/jenny-chiu-to-attend-north-carolina/31471645/|title=Jenny Chiu to attend North Carolina|last=Chavez|first=Felix|newspaper=El Paso Times|access-date=2023-11-21}}

During her sophomore year in high school, pain emerged in a spot on Chiu's lower back which was diagnosed as the result of bulging spinal disks partly due to overuse while playing on poor fields. Despite the pain, she played for the Mexico under-17 team at the 2012 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and captained the team at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where she played in two games. Back in El Paso, the pain worsened to the point that she sat out her senior high school and club season. She graduated from the School for Educational Enrichment in El Paso in 2013.

Chiu played in only 15 games for 164 minutes during her four years at North Carolina.{{cite news|url=https://mediahub.unc.edu/2206-2/|title=College soccer: When it all ends|last=Marks|first=Brendan|date=2017-02-03|publisher=UNC Media Hub|access-date=2023-11-12}} She redshirted her first year and played in only six games the next two seasons. In the summer of 2014, she was called up to the Mexico under-20 team at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times-chiu/135596249/|title=Chiu will play at U20 World Cup|last=Chávez|first=Felix|date=2014-07-24|page=C1|newspaper=El Paso Times|via=Newspapers.com}} In a study abroad program before her last year of college, she covered soccer and badminton at the 2016 Summer Olympics in an internship with the Olympic News Service.{{cite news|url=https://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc-journalism-grads-share-career-shaping-experience-of-covering-olympics-while-in-college/19848522/|title=UNC journalism grads share career-shaping experience of covering Olympics while in college|date=2021-08-28|last=Schmidt|first=Kaitlyn|website=WRALSportsFan.com|access-date=2023-11-22}}{{cite news|url=https://goheels.com/news/2016/7/28/211088816|title=Five Tar Heels Will Gain Journalism Experience At Olympics|date=2016-07-28|publisher=University of North Carolina Athletics|access-date=2023-11-21}} She played in nine games as a redshirt junior, ending her college career in the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Championship. She graduated from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2017.

Journalism career

While playing professional soccer in Australia, Chiu got her start in professional broadcasting with Fox Sports. She then became a social media intern for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS) and conducted player interviews and produced content for a vlog. She joined the broadcast team of MLS's Orlando City SC in 2018, and she won a Suncoast Emmy Award for producing a short video about Orlando's 2020 preseason.{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandocitysc.com/news/orlando-city-sc-announces-2019-mls-broadcast-talent|title=Orlando City SC Announces 2019 MLS Broadcast Talent|date=2019-02-22|publisher=Orlando City SC|access-date=2023-11-22}}{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2020/12/15/2020-suncoast-regional-emmy-awards-winners-announced/|title=2020 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards winners announced|last=Christiansen|first=Kathleen|date=2020-12-15|newspaper=Orlando Sentinel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231121231656/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2020/12/15/2020-suncoast-regional-emmy-awards-winners-announced/|archive-date=2023-11-21|url-access=subscription}}

CBS Sports hired Chiu in September 2020 to be an on-field reporter for the UEFA Champions League.{{cite news|url=https://grantwahl.substack.com/p/written-q-and-a-jenny-chiu-of-cbs|title=The Interview: Jenny Chiu of CBS Sports|last=Wahl|first=Grant|author-link=Grant Wahl|website=Fútbol with Grant Wahl|via=Substack|access-date=2023-11-22}}{{cite news|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/cbs/jenny-chiu-sideline-reporting-cbs-usa-mexico-world-cup-qualifying.html|title=Jenny Chiu talks sideline reporting for CBS' Mexico-USA broadcast: 'This game is going to be insane.'|last=Bucholtz|first=Andrew|date=2022-03-23|website=Awful Announcing|access-date=2023-11-22}} She began reporting for Morning Footy and appearing on Attacking Third for the CBS Sports Golazo Network in 2023.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/cbs-sports-golazo-network-a-247-streaming-channel-dedicated-to-soccer-to-launch-april-11/|title=CBS Sports Golazo Network, a 24/7 streaming channel dedicated to soccer, to launch April 11|last=Gonzalez|first=Roger|date=2023-03-09|work=CBS Sports|access-date=2023-11-22}}{{cite press release|url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-sports/releases/?view=106754-cbs-sports-golazo-network-debuting-new-attacking-third-show-dedicated-exclusively-to-womens-soccer|title=CBS Sports Golazo Network Debuting New 'Attacking Third' Show Dedicated Exclusively to Women's Soccer|date=2023-07-12|publisher=Paramount Press Express|access-date=2023-11-12}}