World Cup

Working Lives: Football Commentator

John Roder holds a microphone to his face while wearing over-ear headphones and looking at handwritten notes, in a seating area of a football ground

Football has taken you around the world. Is it a good life?

I’ve worked on all five continents and I love it. But you need the work to keep coming in. Like many in the TV industry, I’m freelance and have been for 30 years. Covid, when there was no live sport for five months, was a challenging time financially.

How did you get started in TV?

I started on the Sky News sports desk in 1994, having worked in local radio and what was then BBC Radio 5.

What was the first match you commentated on for TV?

S4C kicks off a new era with the launch of Wales' World Cup campaign

Gogglebocs Cymru (Credit: S4C)

When Wales play their opening World Cup game in Qatar later this month, few supporters will be cheering on the national team as fervently as Siân Doyle, the Chief Executive of S4C. She needs no reminding of the campaign’s significance to the Welsh-language channel, which, in a happy coincidence, celebrated its 40th anniversary on 1 November.

Fifa World Cup 2022: The beautiful game turns ugly

First Russia in 2018 and now Qatar: the World Cup appears to be on a tour of the world’s least savoury destinations. There has been widespread condemnation of the exploitation and deaths of migrant construction workers – thought to number several thousand – in building new stadiums for the tournament and other major projects, and of Qatar’s criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity and severe restrictions on women’s rights.

Gareth Southgate in conversation with Clare Balding

Gareth Southgate (Credit: Richard Kendal)

In recent years, few, if any, leaders in the UK have made such an impact as Gareth Southgate, the first manager of the England men’s football team to reach the final of an international competition since 1966. 

Introducing him at Cambridge, Clare Balding described Southgate as one of the great leaders, not just in sports but in any field, including business, politics and science: “He leads with dignity, empathy and with patience – qualities that aren’t often associated with men’s football.” The strength of applause that greeted his appearance on the Convention stage said it all. 

BBC Two to broadcast feature-length documentary Finding Jack Charlton

The film tells the unlikely life story of Charlton, who, after winning the World Cup for England as a player, went on to become an Irish hero after leading their national team to their first World Cup as a manager.

Such successes are told against the background of the final year of his life stricken with dementia.

Charlton’s family, including his wife Pat and son John, are among the contributors.

Ashley John-Baptiste takes the temperature in Russia

It was late March when BBC Newsgathering offered me a lifetime opportunity – to report from Russia during the World Cup. My response? Heck, yes! It was a no-brainer. 

Only hours after the initial buzz faded and I had spoken with mates did concerns arise.

Would I experience racial abuse in Russia? Would I be able to hack the cultural and language barriers while consistently providing quality reports? I knew without a doubt that this would be a step up from the domestic reporting that I was used to.