The Art of Football Commentary
If you’ve got nothing to say, say nothing
On January 22, 1927, BBC Radio broadcast a football match for the very first time — a Division 1 fixture between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Highbury. Former rugby player, Teddy Wakelam called the match that day.
Sports broadcasting was so new that Radio Times published a diagram of a football pitch, divided into eight numbered squares. While Wakelam called the play, another voice would call out numbers corresponding to the area of the pitch the action was taking place. This allowed listeners to follow the match at home, using the grid — and was thought to be the origins of the phrase, “back to square one”.
At the time, it was thought that radio coverage would affect match attendance and newspaper sales, but by 1931 the BBC were broadcasting over one hundred games a season. Six years later, they presented the first football match on live television.
People think you just turn up to do commentary and it’s as simple as talking off the top of your head. I can assure you, it’s anything but.
As football has grown, so too has the way we consume the sport. TV coverage now dominates, but radio still plays a crucial role. And at the core of these experiences is the human voice — the football commentator.
As Fox Sports Australia’s Simon Hill explains, calling a football match is no simple task. “People think you just turn up to do commentary and it’s as simple as talking off the top of your head. I can assure you, it’s anything but. You know, it’s an art form, it’s a skill.”
The central role of commentary is to keep you up to date and informed with how a football match is unfolding and naturally, this differs between radio and television. “In radio you’ve obviously got to find a lot more words because you are being descriptive as well as following the action. But television can be tricky because you have to complement the pictures, so you’re almost trying to talk around the pictures in some ways. TV is a more disciplined art and can be quite tricky to perfect.”
Traditionally, the role was filled by a solo commentator but over the years, co-commentators have become more prevalent — often taken up by former players who offer a different perspective on the game. “The nuances of the game are there for your co-commentator to dissect because he’s the guy with the experience of playing the game at the highest level. So the tactical side of thing is their department really. I always describe it as; we’re the how and when and what, and they’re the why.”
There have been some great commentator pairings over the years and the insider knowledge from a former player behind the microphone is certainly valuable. But there is something intimate about a solo commentator, guiding you through a match. Equally, the use of silence is often overlooked. These days, the tendency is to fill every available second of air time but the best commentators know when to stay quiet and let a match breathe.
“Certainly when you watch games back from the 60s and 70s, you become aware very quickly of how little the commentators actually spoke. These days we tend to talk across virtually every aspect of the game, which is probably wrong.” Simon says.
We don’t sit there when there’s no games, smoking cigars, as people seem to think we do!
When it comes to actually preparing to call a match, most commentators put in many hours of research. For Simon,who covers two to three games a week, it’s a major part of his job. “I spend a full day on each domestic game. For international games it will be more than that because obviously there’s a bit more research involved. During the season it’s pretty much 24–7, it’s a full time occupation. We don’t sit there when there’s no games, smoking cigars, as people seem to think we do haha!”
Commentators will prepare several pages of notes too, a lot of which is handwritten and full of information; stats, records, historical references, interesting facts. It’s not just about keeping up with the latest changes and news around the game, there’s an element of entertaining the viewer or listener as well — when things go to plan at least. “The great thing about live television and about live football is that you never know what’s going to happen during the 90 minutes. So you know, all the best laid plans can go out of the window within the first thirty seconds, just like being a coach or a player.”
Commentary has become central to our viewing and listening experience and the way football moments are recorded and remembered. “All you can do as a commentator is try and reflect the emotion of that particular day, that particular moment for the people you’re calling for and as a result you become part of that history.”
