Transported to Another World: The Art of Radio Football Commentary

Alex Waite

14th November 2023 | 1:30 PM

Time and time again, radio football commentary has engaged me in the game like no other medium. My infatuation with it was actually born from my environment rather than personal interest. I will never forget the long family car journeys as a kid—my brothers and I crammed into the back of our car, fighting for leg space as we endured the hours of motorway to some random holiday destination. More often than not, my dad would tune the radio into whatever football match was being broadcast on local or national radio to pass the time, and to most likely have some relief from the jam-packed, overfilled, and usually too hot or cold family car. Looking back now, I realise that I would also use the football commentary as an escape through the commentator’s words. For a professional daydreamer like me, having someone paint a portrait of a football match through spoken word was the perfect way to transport myself to the ground. I would try to create a personal image in my mind’s eye of watching the players in their positions, hearing the fans roar or groan as the action unfolded.

football radio, football commentary, football radio commentary, English Premier League, League One, first-division football, second-division football, Crystal Palace, football, football fandom
Artwork by Shivani Khot

What began as passive listening on long car journeys soon developed into a genuine, all-encompassing love for football radio commentary. As I got older, went to more matches, and started playing football, my infatuation with commentary didn’t stop once a broadcast had finished or when our journey had ended. I was so fixated on the commentary that I would narrate when practising my shooting or dribbling skills in the back garden or when playing in the park with friends, leading to remarks that I should take up commentating as a future career. In particular, I developed a rather strange and humorous combination of my love for radio commentary and the 1990s broadcasting of Football Italia—as a result, I had the blend of using English terms and phrases whilst using iconic footballers’ names from Serie A like Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, and Paolo Maldini. 

As my lack of childhood inhibitions wore off and I became a more introverted teenager, I lost some of my knack for commentating on my football experiences, and the freedom to pour words out of my mouth whilst simultaneously trying to play a defence-splitting through ball on the pitch started to decline. Instead, I became much more focused on playing the game and trying my best to look cool like Andrea Pirlo rather than a gangly awkward teenager playing on a grass-lacking, sodden, bumpy pitch in South London. 

Yet, deep down behind the moody teenage persona, and listening to football via the radio was a leisure activity and a passion that I have never lost. Football matches on Sky Sports and other outlets weren’t always available for me and my family, and they aren’t even today due to astronomical costs, so listening to the radio or online was, and is, an essential bloodline straight to the regular mid-week or Saturday afternoon matches in the UK. I was also incredibly grateful that I could keep up with the action in an engaging way that allowed my mind to wander. 

Unlock this article and 1,000+ Football Paradise stories by logging in

Already a subscriber?

All rights reserved © Football Paradise