Jacqui Oatley
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Anne "Jacqui" Oatley is a British
sports broadcaster for BBC Sport
, reporting and commentating mostly on football. She is best known for being the first female commentator on Match of the Day
. She is an FA qualified football coach.
, where her parents were Norwegian missionaries. She has an older brother Jeremy. Her cousin in South Africa was a Springboks cricket
selector, while his brother was a rally driver who twice won the Roof of Africa. On 26 April 2011 she announced, via Twitter
, that she had given birth to a baby girl called Phoebe Rae.
, Staffordshire
. Oatley passed three A-Levels at Wolverhampton Grammar School
, and studied at University of Leeds
, graduating with a degree in German
in 1996.
Oatley spent a year travelling the world, and then moved to London
to work in intellectual property
as a Sales and Marketing Manager, then Key Account Manager. While playing amateur football for Chiswick Ladies Football Club, Oatley sustained a dislocated knee cap and ruptured ligaments, which resulted in a reconstruction operation and ten months recovering on crutches. With further operations to follow, she was told she would no longer be able to play sport.
. She then gave up her job and flat, spent a summer sleeping on friends' floors whilst doing work experience full time. She undertook a Postgraduate Diploma (PgD) in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University
. While studying she joined BBC Radio Leeds
as a sports reporter, continuing to work there after graduation. Her first commentary was on a match between Wakefield & Emley
versus Worksop Town
in the Unibond League.
Oatley also worked as a news reporter in her native West Midlands
with BBC WM
, before moving back to London to work as a sports reporter for BBC London 94.9
. She joined BBC Radio Five Live
in 2003 and became the first woman to commentate on a football match on British
network radio in 2005, covering the England women’s internationals at the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship
. Her subsequent interview with UEFA President
Lennart Johansson
became an international news story due to his controversial comments on women’s football.
Oatley became the first female football commentator in the history of BBC
football programme Match of the Day
, with her debut broadcast on 21 April 2007 for the Premier League match between Fulham F.C.
and Blackburn Rovers F.C.
She has since commentated on several further games for Match of the Day.
Oatley was the Austria-based reporter for BBC Television at Euro 2008, reported and commentated at the Women's World Cup in China in 2007 and presented and commentated on a television show Level Up
during the World Cup
in Germany in 2006. She commentated on live football matches for BBC Television during the Beijing Olympics. In September 2009, she commentated on the Euro 2009 final between Germany and England.
Oatley is a reporter on Football Focus
, The Football League Show
and Score
on BBC One. She has presented the sports news on BBC Radio One, BBC Radio Two and BBC Radio Four, as well as more frequently on Radio Five Live. She has reported from the World Snooker Championship
, British Moto GP and Open Championship golf and has also covered sports such as tennis
and rugby league
. Oatley has presented sports news on the BBC News Channel.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
sports broadcaster for BBC Sport
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...
, reporting and commentating mostly on football. She is best known for being the first female commentator on Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
. She is an FA qualified football coach.
Biography
Born in Wolverhampton, her late father Gerald was the managing director of a large gas appliance company, her mother Sonja is a retired nurse who was born and brought up in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where her parents were Norwegian missionaries. She has an older brother Jeremy. Her cousin in South Africa was a Springboks cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
selector, while his brother was a rally driver who twice won the Roof of Africa. On 26 April 2011 she announced, via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, that she had given birth to a baby girl called Phoebe Rae.
Education
A normal girl's childhood, she developed a love of watching and playing football. She attended the all-girls junior school, St Dominic's in BrewoodBrewood
Brewood refers both to a settlement, which was once a town but is now a village, in South Staffordshire, England, and to the civil parish of which it is the centre. Located around , Brewood village lies near the River Penk, eight miles north of Wolverhampton city centre and eleven miles south of...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Oatley passed three A-Levels at Wolverhampton Grammar School
Wolverhampton Grammar School
Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...
, and studied at University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, graduating with a degree in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in 1996.
Oatley spent a year travelling the world, and then moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work in intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
as a Sales and Marketing Manager, then Key Account Manager. While playing amateur football for Chiswick Ladies Football Club, Oatley sustained a dislocated knee cap and ruptured ligaments, which resulted in a reconstruction operation and ten months recovering on crutches. With further operations to follow, she was told she would no longer be able to play sport.
Journalism career
Oatley decided to retrain as a journalist, studying print journalism and radio production at evening classes while broadcasting on hospital radioHospital radio
Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...
. She then gave up her job and flat, spent a summer sleeping on friends' floors whilst doing work experience full time. She undertook a Postgraduate Diploma (PgD) in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
. While studying she joined BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.- Frequencies :It broadcasts from its studios at St...
as a sports reporter, continuing to work there after graduation. Her first commentary was on a match between Wakefield & Emley
Wakefield F.C.
Wakefield F.C. is an English football club based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The club was previously known as Emley A.F.C. from 1903 to 2002.-History:...
versus Worksop Town
Worksop Town F.C.
Worksop Town Football Club are a semi-professional English football club from Worksop, Nottinghamshire who play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division...
in the Unibond League.
Oatley also worked as a news reporter in her native West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
with BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...
, before moving back to London to work as a sports reporter for BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
. She joined BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
in 2003 and became the first woman to commentate on a football match on British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
network radio in 2005, covering the England women’s internationals at the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship
2005 UEFA Women's Championship
The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as WOMEN'S EURO 2005 , was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to UEFA, the...
. Her subsequent interview with UEFA President
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson was the president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations from 1990 until 2007. Johansson is probably most famous for starting the UEFA Champions League and for bringing the UEFA European Football Championship to his native Sweden.He started as a bandy leader in AIK...
became an international news story due to his controversial comments on women’s football.
Oatley became the first female football commentator in the history of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
football programme Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
, with her debut broadcast on 21 April 2007 for the Premier League match between Fulham F.C.
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
She has since commentated on several further games for Match of the Day.
Oatley was the Austria-based reporter for BBC Television at Euro 2008, reported and commentated at the Women's World Cup in China in 2007 and presented and commentated on a television show Level Up
Level Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
during the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
in Germany in 2006. She commentated on live football matches for BBC Television during the Beijing Olympics. In September 2009, she commentated on the Euro 2009 final between Germany and England.
Oatley is a reporter on Football Focus
Football Focus
Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...
, The Football League Show
The Football League Show
The Football League Show is a BBC One football television show hosted by Manish Bhasin, featuring highlights from the Championship, League One and League Two. It began on 8 August, 2009, at 11.45pm and immediately follows Match of the Day on Saturdays...
and Score
Score
Score may refer to:*Score , a 2006 album by Dream Theater*Score , a number of points achieved in a sporting event or game*Score , a 1972 sexplotaition film*Score , a pornographic magazine...
on BBC One. She has presented the sports news on BBC Radio One, BBC Radio Two and BBC Radio Four, as well as more frequently on Radio Five Live. She has reported from the World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
, British Moto GP and Open Championship golf and has also covered sports such as tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. Oatley has presented sports news on the BBC News Channel.