The World Cup will sound different this year. Jacqui Oatley will become the first woman play-by-play commentator for US World Cup telecasts, heading one of Fox’s five broadcast teams for the tournament in Qatar that opens Sunday. Know more:
Jacqui Oatley will become the first woman play-by-play commentator for US World Cup telecasts, heading one of Fox’s five broadcast teams for the tournament in Qatar that opens Sunday.
“I’ve loved football since I was a kid. I grew up in a footballing house, My dad works in football. My two brothers play football, and we all talk about the same thing, so why not have a female talking about it?” Pien Meulensteen said. “And I’m hoping in time, as well, that we’ll just be accepted. It won’t be seen as like, ‘oh, wow, there’s a woman that’s doing commentary.’ This should be a normal thing to have females talking about football, just as much as men.
World Cup broadcast booths were long dominated by male voices. That started to change four years ago, when in-game analysts included Aly Wagner on Fox, Viviana Vila on Telemundo, Sparks on BBC and Claudia Neumann on Germany’s ZDF. “They bring knowledge and expertise,” said 77-year-old Martin Tyler, about to broadcast his 12th World Cup. “They only get the work because they’re very good. It’s very important to have the connection with the audience, and they bring their own connection. The most important thing is how good they are.”
Oatley grew up in Wolverhampton listening to Barry Davies, Brian Moore and John Motson. She attended the University of Leeds and was a midfielder for Chiswick’s women’s team when she dislocated her left knee and ruptured ligaments when trying to keep a ball in play. She was on crutches for 10 months.
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