Vicki Sparks

Last updated

Vicki Sparks is a British sports journalist and football commentator for BBC Sport and BT Sport. She has reported for Final Score and BBC Radio 5 Live. [1] She also regularly covers women's football for the BBC. [2]

In March 2017, after a post-match interview, Sunderland manager David Moyes took issue at one of Sparks' questions to him and said “You were just getting a wee bit naughty at the end there, so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap even though you’re a woman. Careful the next time you come in.” In June, The Football Association fined him £30,000 for "improper and threatening remarks". [3]

Sparks was part of the BBC's team covering the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 20 June of that year, she became the first woman to commentate on a live World Cup match on British television, BBC One's coverage of Portugal's 1–0 victory over Morocco in Group B in Saransk. [1] Sparks and female pundits Eniola Aluko and Alex Scott were subjected to online criticism, and former player Jason Cundy said her voice was too high-pitched for commentary, while other figures such as Jacqui Oatley and Piers Morgan praised them and said that the criticism was due to sexism. [4] [5] [6] Sparks has also guested on the BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk . [7]

In July 2023, she was announced to be commentating for the BBC at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. [8] In November 2023, she was nominated in the Commentator of the Year category at the Football Supporters' Association awards. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Match of the Day</i> Television series

Match of the Day is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary Lineker, with regular analysis from fellow former players Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, and occasional relief analysts such as Micah Richards, Danny Murphy, Jermaine Jenas, Martin Keown, and Dion Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Gray (footballer, born 1955)</span> Scottish football commentator

Andrew Mullen Gray is a Scottish football broadcaster and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Motson</span> English football commentator (1945–2023)

John Walker Motson was an English football commentator. Beginning as a television commentator with the BBC in 1971, he commentated on over 2000 games on television and radio. From the late 1970s to 2008, Motson was the dominant football commentary figure at the BBC, apart from a brief spell in the mid-1990s.

Derek Rae is a Scottish association football commentator and presenter who currently works for ESPN and ABC in the United States for the English-language coverages of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and La Liga and Deutsche Fußball Liga for the English-language world feed as well as the Premier League coverage on Amazon Prime Video in the UK. He has provided the English commentary for the FIFA/EA FC video game series alongside former Arsenal players Lee Dixon in 2020 and Stewart Robson since 2021. He is also an ambassador for Berwick Rangers.

Peter Brackley was an English football commentator, perhaps most famous for commentating for Football Italia on Channel 4 in the 1990s, for the computer game series Pro Evolution Soccer until Pro Evolution Soccer 6, and for Michael Owen's World League Soccer '99.

Jonathan Martin Champion is a British sports commentator currently working as an association football commentator for ESPN and NBC Sports. Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC and ITV over the last 20 years. Champion currently covers the FA Cup for ESPN and the Premier League for NBC Sports.

Jason Victor Cundy is an English former professional footballer, radio broadcaster and comedian for talkSPORT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Pearce (commentator)</span> British football commentator

Jonathan Mark Pearce is an English sports commentator on football for the BBC and TNT Sports. He has worked for BBC Radio 5 Live and Match of the Day, and has participated in other lower-profile sports programmes.

Stephen Robert Bower is an English football commentator, one of the main voices for BBC TV's Match of the Day, culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cups. Bower commentated on New Zealand's historic draw with Italy and Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea amongst others. He can also be heard on TNT Sports covering the Europa League, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, NBCSN covering the Premier League in the US, and ESPN covering international matches. He is the lead presenter on world feed Premier League Productions and presents Premier League football for Amazon Prime Video UK. Previous work includes Setanta Sports, ESPN UK, and MUTV.

Peter Donald Drury is a British sports commentator who currently works for Sky Sports and NBC Sports in the United States as the lead commentator for its Premier League and EFL Cup coverages.

Football on 5 is the principal football programme on Channel 5 in the UK. The show first ran from May 1997 until July 2012. The show returned in August 2015 under the name Football League Tonight. For the 2016–17 Football League season the Football on 5 name was revived with the highlights show now called Football on 5: The Championship and Football on 5: Goal Rush being broadcast from 9pm-10.30pm on a Saturday with a repeat on Sunday morning. The show itself was initially sponsored by Wilkinson Sword, and would eventually be sponsored by Soccernet.com, Peugeot and SEAT, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Mowbray</span> English football commentator

Guy Nicholas Mowbray is an English football commentator, who primarily appears on the BBC and TNT Sports. While working for Eurosport at the 1998 World Cup, he became the youngest ever television commentator on a World Cup final, aged 26.

Jacqueline Anne Oatley is an English broadcaster who works as a football commentator for Sky Sports and other broadcasters, calling games at the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, FA Women's Super League, UEFA Champions League, NWSL and UEFA international matches. She was also a sports presenter on Quest TV covering the English Football League, a podcast host for The Athletic, and is current anchor for ITV Sport's live darts coverage. In 2007, she became the first female commentator on the flagship BBC One football highlights programme Match of the Day, which she also presented once in March 2015.

Nick Mullins is a British journalist and sports commentator, primarily working on BT Sport's Premiership Rugby coverage and BBC One's Wimbledon coverage.

Alison Mitchell is an English-Australian cricket commentator and sports broadcaster, working for the BBC, Australia's Channel 7 and the Australian Open among others. She was the first woman to become a regular commentator on the BBC's Test Match Special, and has been commentating on men's and women's international cricket around the world since 2007. She also spent many years reporting and commentating on a variety of sports for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, including Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open and Open Golf. In March 2014, she was voted SJA Sports Broadcaster of the Year 2013 by members of the Sports Journalists' Association. She is also the first woman to have called men's cricket ball-by-ball on ABC Radio Grandstand in Australia.

Conor McNamara is an Irish sports commentator. He is the Lead Commentator for Premier League Productions and also works for BBC Sport on Radio 5 Live and Match of the Day, Amazon Prime Video and Sky Sports. Away from sport, he voices the character of 'Squawk The Parrot' on CBeebies show Swashbuckle.

Paul Andrew Francis Dempsey is a British TV and radio sports presenter and commentator now chiefly employed by TNT Sports where he covers football and boxing coverage, as well as TV host and commentary on Indonesian Djarum's multiplatform Mola TV. After 18 years working for Sky Sports and 7 with the Dublin-based channels of Setanta Sports, Dempsey was signed by BT Sport prior to their UK launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seema Jaswal</span> British television and radio presenter

Seema Jaswal is a British sports journalist, radio and television presenter currently working for BT Sport, ITV, BBC, DAZN and the Premier League. Jaswal presented the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with ITV. Jaswal is the first woman to present a Men’s World Cup Quarter final for a UK Broadcaster – Morocco vs Portugal for ITV. Jaswal was also the main presenter for the historic all-female on-screen panel for a Men’s World Cup game – Saudi Arabia vs Poland.

Robyn Cowen is an English journalist and football commentator. Cowen is best known as being the lead play-by-play commentator on BBC One during the England women's national football team matches during UEFA Women's Euro 2022, hosted and won by England.

Pien Meulensteen is a Dutch-born, British-based sports broadcaster. Her presenting and commentary work has included the FIFA World Cup, the Premier League, the FIFA Women's World Cup, and the Women's Super League. She has worked for broadcasters such as the BBC in Britain, Ziggo Sport in the Netherlands, and CBS in the United States. In 2023, she became the first female to commentate on a live Premier League match in Britain for Sky Sports.

References

  1. 1 2 Seddon, Sean (20 June 2018). "Newcastle commentator Vicki Sparks makes history at World Cup 2018". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. Rodger, James (20 June 2018). "Who is Vicki Sparks? BBC One commentator makes history during Portugal vs Morocco World Cup 2018 match". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  3. "David Moyes fined £30,000 by FA for 'slap' comment towards journalist". The Guardian. Press Association. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. Ridge, Sophy. "Sky Views: Stop moaning about female football pundits". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  5. Singh, Anita (25 June 2018). "Jason Cundy: women's voices are too high for football commentary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  6. Smit, Sarah (25 June 2018). "Women take on football's 'sexist pigs' in the battle for World Cup screen time". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  7. "BBC Radio 5 live - Fighting Talk - Episode guide".
  8. "Women's World Cup: Gabby Logan, Reshmin Chowdhury and Alex Scott to lead BBC TV coverage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  9. "FSA Awards 2023: Vote now!". thefsa.org. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.