Martin Tyler: A day in the life of a football commentator

On a visit to UCFB Wembley, football commentary icon Martin Tyler met with students to offer them advice for their future careers in the world of sports media.

Students were given the opportunity to hear from Martin, but also to network with him and ask him questions about his career and the role of a football commentator.

He talked us through a day in the life of a football commentator. See what he said below…

“Well, the first thing about match day for a Premier League commentator is to get there,” he said.

“There have been a lot of travel difficulties in my career. You might be on a train that gets delayed or even cancelled. You might be driving, get stuck in traffic.

“I’ve spent far more time waiting for Premier League matches to start than actually commentating on them, because you really double down on the risks of not making kickoff, which is the one thing I think you can be criticised for. Of course, we get criticised for all sorts of things.

“So getting there is important. To be honest with you, eating is important, being warm is important, checking the commentary position is important.

“Then the real business end, I suppose, is when the teams are announced and you’ve got to try and work out what the storylines are. Giving the team news is the first thing probably that a Premier League commentator has to do.

“If someone’s not playing, you need to know why. If somebody is in the team, maybe a young player that you’ve never heard of before, you’ve got to rally around, talk to a few contacts at the relevant club and try to get that kind of information, just give you time to get set, seated, and ready to go.

“And then I always think of this when you hear them say, well, let’s join our commentary team now. And you think, I’m going to have to talk for the best part of an hour now. It’s a kind of out-of-body experience. But it’s a wonderful experience, one I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of times.”

He added: “To be honest with you, every match is of maximum importance.

“People say, what’s it like to commentate on a World Cup final? I’ve done a number of those, or an FA Cup final, I’ve done a number of those. It’s just the same as doing pre-season friendly, really, if it’s live on television. You’re accountable and you need to know your stuff.

“I’ve been lucky enough to be doing the job for 51 years and I’m well aware that you could lose all that reputation such as it is in 51 seconds if you don’t prepare. So the game that matters to me always is the next game.”

Martin then went to speak about visiting UCFB and seeing the facilities at our Wembley Campus.

“I can imagine what a thrill it is to come to Wembley Stadium for lessons and seminars,” he said, “and have a course here over a number of years. It must be very special indeed.”

“It’s a wonderful venue. Even for me coming back, just to be a guest in a particular afternoon for the course that the students are on, it’s still special.

“Going around, seeing all the rooms for study, all the conference areas, the fact that it was built with much more than football on the field in mind. And that’s a great credit to the designers.

“Yeah, can I do a degree now at my age?”

View a UCFB prospectus too to find out about our other courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, all tailored to the global sports industry, whether it be sports media, business or coaching.

You can also find out more about our dedicated Employability and Career Planning Team, who offer our students unrivalled opportunities and experiences within the world of sport, from guest speaker sessions to trips and invaluable industry experience.