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United Kingdom Alan Parry is a veteran sports commentator with a career spanning over five decades across football and athletics.
Alan Parry started his career at BBC Radio Merseyside, joining BBC London in 1973. He became a regular football commentator, covering England matches and the European Cup final by 1975. He was also BBC Radio's athletics commentator, covering multiple Summer Olympics, European Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games, and the first World Athletics Championships. From 1981, he commentated for 'Match of the Day' on BBC television and was part of their commentary team for the 1982 World Cup and Euro 1984.
Alan Parry left the BBC in 1985 to join ITV, initially as an athletics commentator after the commercial channel secured rights to cover British athletics. By the late 1980s, he became a key football commentator for the network, serving as Brian Moore's number two at the 1990 World Cup. He also had a regional role as Central's lead commentator for Football League coverage between 1992 and 1996. He covered Euro 96 for ITV before moving to Sky TV.
After Euro 96, Alan Parry joined Sky TV, where his primary role has been as a football commentator. He was the 'Monday Night Football' commentator for five years and later worked on pay-per-view games on PremPlus. He became one of Sky's 'Big Five' (later 'Big Four') commentators, covering a wide range of matches in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Europa League, and Football League. He has commentated on seven League Cup Finals for Sky and covers Wales' live international matches. He also commentated for the revived 'Gladiators' on Sky One.
Between 1998 and 2002, Alan Parry worked as a football commentator for Talksport and also presented a phone-in during the World Cup.
During the 2002–03 season, Alan Parry presented Saturday afternoon football coverage on Capital Gold.
When not working for Sky Sports, Parry has provided commentary for Premier League matches for Premier League Productions, a venture by IMG Sports Media that produces and broadcasts live game productions for international and domestic broadcast partners.
Born in Garston, Liverpool in 1948, Alan Parry began his broadcasting career at BBC Radio Merseyside before moving to BBC London in 1973. He quickly became a regular football commentator, covering England matches and the European Cup final by 1975. In addition to football, Parry established himself as BBC Radio’s athletics commentator, covering numerous significant events including the 1976, 1980, and 1984 Summer Olympics, as well as the European Athletics Championships in 1974, 1978, and 1982, and the inaugural World Athletics Championships in 1983. His early career at the BBC provided a broad foundation in sports broadcasting, covering a range of high-profile events for both radio and television.
From 1981, Parry transitioned to television football commentary for ‘Match of the Day’ on BBC, and was part of the BBC’s commentary team for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where he notably covered Algeria’s 2-1 victory over West Germany. In 1985, he moved to ITV, initially focusing on athletics commentary before becoming a key football commentator for the network. He served as Brian Moore’s second commentator for the 1990 World Cup. He also held a significant regional role at Central, commentating on live Football League matches weekly between 1992 and 1996. After Euro 96, Parry joined Sky TV, where he became a prominent commentator for ‘Monday Night Football’ for five years and eventually one of Sky’s ‘Big Five’ commentators, covering Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Europa League, and Football League matches. He has commentated on seven League Cup Finals for Sky and also calls Wales’ international matches.
Beyond his extensive commentary work, Parry also served as a football commentator for Talksport between 1998 and 2002, and presented Saturday afternoon football coverage on Capital Gold during the 2002-03 season. He has also been involved with Wycombe Wanderers F.C., including a period as a director. In a shift from sports commentary, Parry became the commentator for the revived ‘Gladiators’ on Sky One. He continues to commentate on Premier League matches for Premier League Productions, reaching international broadcast partners and contributing to Sky Sports’ “Football First” highlights.
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