Jacqui Oatley

Best known for being the first ever female commentator on BBC One’s Match of the Day, Jacqui Oatley is an English presenter, commentator and sports pundit. She covers both football and darts, anchoring, commentating and presenting some of the world’s largest competitions.

Oatley’s career has been full of highlights, having anchored both the Euro 2016 football tournament and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. She’s fronted not only Match of the Day but also Final Score, The Football League Show and Football Focus. She is an FA qualified football coach, an ambassador for Women in Football and the first woman to ever present Sportsweek. She spearheaded the BBC’s coverage of the women’s football, anchoring the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the UEFA Women’s Euro 2013 and the BBC Women’s Football Show. In 2016 Oatley was awarded an MBE for her contributions to broadcasting and diversity in sport, having paved the way for other female broadcasters to follow in her footsteps. She is also the UK’s first female darts presenter, covering Professional Darts Corporation tournaments for ITV.

Before she began presenting national sports coverage, she took a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University, presenting sport on BBC Radio Leeds alongside her studies. In 2005 she became the first woman to commentate on a football match on British network radio. Although she mainly commentates on football and darts, she has also covered snooker, British Moto GP, golf, tennis, rugby league and the Olympic Games.