The exposure of women’s football is completely changed today. Over the years, there have been several female commentators working and covering sports events. Today, there are many prominent figures working in that role with an established career.
Pien Meulensteen
Started her career with BBC Manchester as a student, Pien is the first female commentator to cover a Premier League match live and is the first female to do commentary for major international broadcasters. She is the first person to interview Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag in England.
Her experience involves commentary works for the BBC’s flagship show Match of the Day and covering tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Premier League, and the Women’s Super League, and she has worked for broadcasters like the BBC, CBS, Sky Sports, and Dutch channel Ziggo Sport.
She has been named as ‘One to Watch – On Air’ by the British Sports Journalism Awards in 2023.
Jacqui Oatley
She was the first female commentator on ‘Match of the Day’ and is a popular football commentator in the UK. Recently, she worked as a commentator for FOX Sports, covering the Women’s European Championship.
Jacqui has worked for several major broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Sky Sports, Quest TV, and FOX Sports. Under them, she has covered some of the major tournaments over the years, including the Olympics, FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups, European Championships, and WSL football.
She was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours in 2016, honoring her contribution and dedication towards football.
Emma Hayes
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) coach is one of the established female commentators, having covered tournaments like the 2007 Women’s World Cup for Eurosport, the 2019 World Cup, and the Olympics summer football for the 2012 London and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Over the years, Hayes has covered major women’s and men’s football tournaments for BBC Radio 5 Live and ITV in Britain and ESPN in the U.S. She has covered for teams like Russia’s WFC Rossiyanka in the second round of the Women’s Champions League.
Her credibility goes hand-in-hand with doing commentary and managing England’s women’s team. In 2021, she was named ‘Broadcast Sport Awards Pundit of the Year’ for her ITV coverage.
Pam Oliver
A celebrated female journalist in the sports industry, she has been working as an NFL sideline reporter for a while now, working for FOX. Prior to that, she worked for ESPN covering the NFL Playoffs and NFC Championship Games. Her area of expertise also extends to NBA, college, and women’s sports.
As a feature reporter for NFL Prime Monday, she also covered the ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup. She has covered for both NCAA Women’s and Men’s College Football and Basketball, the Little League World Series, and the NBA Finals.
Taylor Rooks
The 32-year-old has been working as a sideline reporter on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Her commentary works appear on Bleacher Report and Turner Sports. She has been providing in-depth knowledge of the sport out to the world through her works.
She has been known for conducting personal interviews with some successful football athletes, including America’s quarterback footballer Patrick Mahomes and running back footballer Saquon Barkley.
