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The World Football Phone-In at 20

2017-11-30T10:19:40+00:00

5 live’s World Football Phone-In is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend.

For two decades, the weekly show and podcast has rejoiced in the power and intricacies of the beautiful game.

With pundits and loyal listeners from across the globe, it continues to shine a unique light on international stories, teams and players.

Here, the BBC’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery (aka ‘The Legendinho’) – who hasn’t missed a show since the very first! – reflects on how the show began, evolved and continues to thrive:

This Saturday 2 December, Dotun Adebayo will be joined by an audience of fans and special guests for a 20th anniversary special.

Early December 1997.

For the previous few months, I had been doing plenty of radio reports for the BBC World Service, and the odd thing for 5 live.

Up All Night had been launched. Someone from the show heard me and thought it might be worth a try.

I got a call: Did I fancy doing a quick round up of South American football, say five minutes long, on Sunday night? I did, and we were away.

But when the phone rang again the following week, I was surprised.

The BBC’s South American football correspondent Tim Vickery (aka ‘The Legendinho’) hasn’t missed a show since the first in 1997.

Oh, so we’re doing it again, are we? It’s a regular thing, is it? No one had told me! I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. Two decades later, it’s still going strong.

We went from five minutes, to ten, and then to fifteen.

In late 2002, I got an e-mail: We’re thinking of making it interactive, I was told. An hour long phone-in. Do you think it would work? Not a chance, I replied, and thought no more of it.

A few months later, when I dialled-in for the usual weekly round-up, I had some news: You know it’s extended tonight, I presume? I didn’t. Has no-one told you it’s now an hour long phone-in? No-one had. But let’s roll up our sleeves and try and make it work.

And here we still are, having grown to an hour and a half, then to two, and for occasional specials, up to four.

Regular contributors are awarded a 'Brazilian shirt name' as a nickname.

How has it lasted all this time? We’ve been lucky with presenters. Richard Dallyn saw that it was going down well, and gave it a boost. Anita Anand was wonderfully charming, and adept in handling the transition to a phone-in.

And then came Dotun.

A certain Cork City right back knows Dotun Adebayo as ‘Uncle D’ (sorry Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, but you have to share him with the world!).

He’s everyone’s Uncle D, a big Baloo the bear figure guiding all of us Mowglis through the highways of life.

Dotun is key to two of the main reasons, in my humble opinion, for the show’s success – and for the fact that, to my unending delight, it frequently appeals to people with little interest in the game of football.

One is the sheer warmth that is generated. The show really does feel like a global community, filled with mutual respect and affectionate banter.

The phone-in is hosted by BBC Radio 5 live’s Dotun Adebayo, every Saturday morning on Up All Night.

All are included: pundits, callers, those who send in texts and e-mails, those who listen live or to the podcast. Radio can be a fine generator of intimacy.

The other is the programme’s sheer range. It can go from frivolous and infantile humour (guilty, your honour), to in-depth cultural discussion and back again, all in the space of a few minutes.

Very rarely do I put the mic down at the end of a show without feeling that the previous two hours were gloriously spent in a joyful weekly communion with old mates.

The show features reporters from across the continent, including European football expert Paul Sarah (aka ‘Galatasarahs’).

And of course, none of it would be possible without the loyal listeners…

“The World Football Phone-In has been a central part of my week for the last 10 years, having stumbled across it whilst eating tea and toast after a night out at university. ‘Was it dream?’, I thought in the morning. No, and alas life has never been the same since. Careers, girlfriends, families, daughters and, more importantly, sleep, all come second to the dulcet tones of the Legendinho (Tim Vickery), and the ‘best dressed chicken in town’ (Mina Rzouki), both going all out attack and defence for their justification of their favourite styles of play.” – Bobby

“The World Football Phone-In is more than just about football.” - Richard

“This show has been part of my life since I turned it the right way around.” - Ekram

“The Phone-In has helped me through many a sleepless night Dotun. is a legend.” - Margaret

“Undoubtedly the best thing on any BBC channel, radio station or website.” - Henry

Listener The Artist Archivist has made this collage to celebrate 20 years of the World Football Phone-In.

The World Football Phone-In 20th anniversary special will be live on 5 live from 1am Saturday 2 December. Watch it on the BBC Sport website or catch-up via the podcast, and get involved using #WPFI20.

Mike Ingham calls time

2014-07-11T12:54:43+00:00

Sunday’s World Cup final will mark the end of Mike Ingham’s distinguished career as BBC radio’s chief football correspondent.

It is fitting that Mike is calling time after a World Cup full of incident, shocks and stories; and I know his commentary on the final will once again live up to the occasion.

Mike joined the BBC more than 40 years ago, starting at BBC Radio Derby, and he took over as football correspondent from Bryon Butler in 1991.

Since then, he has set the standard in authoritative and intelligent football analysis, while his commentary partnership with Alan Green has become legendary. However, it is Mike’s integrity as a broadcaster and trusted colleague which most sets him apart. He cares passionately about the output and the traditions of BBC Sport – and it infuses everything he does.

There are few voices in the modern media which illicit such respect and attention. Put simply - when Mike speaks about football, you stop and listen. For me, it is his meticulous attention to detail, deep understanding of the game of football and whimsical sense of humour which define his broadcasting – and that’s why I am delighted he will continue to be a regular voice on 5 live, presenting a series of special football programmes.

John Murray will be taking over as football correspondent and I know he is extremely honoured to be following in the footsteps of Mike, Bryon Butler and Brian Moore. I also know he will do a wonderful job.

Friday 11 July at 9pm on 5 live, we will be broadcasting Mike Ingham: The World Cup Years when he will look back at the eight World Cup tournaments he has worked on from Mexico 86 through to Brazil 2014. It promises to be a great listen.

The road to Rio

2013-11-07T13:43:29+00:00

On November 10th and 11th Victoria Derbyshire will broadcast from Rocinha, one of the largest favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro. It’s not far from where the England squad’s main base is due to be when they arrive for the World Cup next June. Ahead of the tournament Victoria will be finding out what supporters making the journey to South America can expect.

Brazil has a population of 196.6 million (UN 2011), in 2011 around 16 million people (8.5% of the population) were living in extreme poverty, defined as having 70 reais (£27) or less a month. The country though is one of the rising economic powers - otherwise known as BRIC nations - together with Russia, India, China and South Africa. It’s estimated there are one million crack cocaine users in Brazil and the latest crime figures show that 406 people were murdered in Rio and the surrounding state in just one month (August 2013). Rio itself is home to more than 600 favelas.

At the moment Brazil is getting the kind of attention it could do without before a World Cup. Protests across the country have become increasingly violent. Beginning in June, as a response to rising public transport costs, the protests have developed into a movement against poor public services, the cost of staging next year's World Cup and better working conditions for teachers. We’ll be speaking to some of those involved who have vowed to continue demonstrating right up to the World Cup finals.

Since 2008 armed police units (Pacifying Police Units or UPP), backed by soldiers and marines, have been going into Rio's favelas to drive out criminal gangs, and establish the first permanent police presences. It’s part of a strategy to take control of Rio's poor districts from drug-traffickers before next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The figure for how many favelas have been pacified so far is only just over 30. Leaving hundreds still in the control of criminal gangs.

Rocinha was pacified in November 2011. Hundreds of special forces police and navy commandos backed by armoured military vehicles and helicopters moved into the slum before dawn.

We’ll also report from a favela under the control of drugs lords - a no-go zone for police - where shootings are common and drugs are sold openly in markets on the street. Traffickers are known as the ‘parallel power’, running favelas as their own kingdoms. They build the roads and schools, and mete out their own kind of justice: beatings for thieves, heads shaved for fighting.

Around 400 local people are killed by police in Rio every year. We'll meet the sister of a man alleged to have been tortured and murdered by police in his hometown. Ten officers have been arrested, and she is campaigning to find his body.

We’ll hear from prostitutes learning English to try and attract World Cup fans next summer. They reckon they will be sleeping with 40 men a day during the competition.

Two years ago Brazil announced it was spending £1.4 billion to tackle what has been described as a "crack cocaine epidemic". It is estimated the country has one million crack-cocaine users, we’ll be visiting a clinic where crack addicts are treated to hear from patients and staff.

We’ll also report from inside football's Mecca - the Maracana stadium – where the World Cup final is due to be held on 13 July, 2014. We'll sit with fans of the Brazil’s biggest team Flamengo and see for ourselves the passion Brazilians have for the game.

Victoria Derbyshire will be broadcasting from Brazil on Sunday 10 November at 8.30pm and Monday 11 November at 10am.

See more photos from Rocinha here.

Football on 5 live for 2013-2014

2013-08-16T08:45:16+00:00

The start of the Premier League season is always an exciting time for everyone at 5 live.

We're extremely proud to bring you a total of 128 live matches from the Premier League, with our commentary team led by Mike Ingham, Alan Green, John Murray and Ian Dennis. On top of that, we'll also have coverage of the Champions League, Scottish Premiership, Football League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup, the Europa League and next summer, the World Cup in Brazil. Plus, this year, we'll also be enhancing our coverage of women's football with commentaries from the Super League and some of the key World Cup qualifiers.

However, as we embark on the new season, there is also a sense of sadness in our ranks. For the first time in nearly 40 years, 5pm on Saturdays will not be graced by the familiar, melodious tones of James Alexander Gordon reading the classified football results.

James - or JAG as he is known to friends and colleagues - has been forced to retire as his voice is no longer strong enough to broadcast following surgery to treat throat cancer.

It is a cruel way to end a legendary career. He had made reading the results into an art form - every inflection of his voice indicating which way a match had turned. We will miss him terribly.

It was never going to be easy to replace James, but I am delighted that the former Radio 4 newsreader, Charlotte Green, has agreed to take on the role. She will start on Saturday September 28th and says it is a dream come true.

Only myself and producer, Audrey Adams, have been fortunate enough to hear Charlotte reading the results. We met up earlier this month to have a run through - and it left us in no doubt that Charlotte is the perfect choice to take over one of the most high-profile roles in radio. She can't wait to get started.

Our football line-up includes more new voices this season as well, with Chris Waddle and John Hartson joining our team of pundits, Ian Wright and Kelly Cates presenting Sunday 606 while Dan Walker takes over as Friday 5 live Sport presenter.

So there's lots that is new, but Dan will also be bringing back something old and much loved - the theme music which used to herald the start of Sport On Two many years ago will now play out at the opening of Dan's show every Friday night. It's a wonderfully evocative piece of music and we hope it will get everyone in the mood for our big weekend preview show. You can listen to it by pressing play below:

Then, after all the action, the Monday Night Club returns with Mark Chapman, Motty and Steve Claridge debating the big issues from the weekend.

But it's not just about big clubs on 5 live - listen out for Caroline Barker's excellent Non League Football Show at 5.30am every Sunday or, if that's too early, it's available as a podcast.

It promises to be another great season and we hope our blend of old and new will be a winning combination for all our listeners.

Dan Walker’s first Friday night 5 live Sport begins at 7pm on August 16^th. You can get in touch with the programme on by calling 0500 909 693, by texting 85058 or by tweeting @bbc5live.

Subscribe to our Football Daily podcast for all our best football analysis. You can also read our full commentaries list here.

England v Scotland: The Auld Enemy

2013-08-13T09:26:56+00:00

One of the pleasures of living in my part of Glasgow is it's only a short walk to the West of Scotland Cricket Club’s ground in Partick. If you stand at the top end and look through the fence, as I often do, you will see a view that has hardly changed since the Illustrated London News sent its artist to capture the scene there on St Andrew’s Day, 1872.

The occasion was the very first football international match: Scotland v England. A healthy crowd of 4,000 turned up to watch the sides draw 0-0 (see below for an artist's illustration of the day). All international football is descended from that fixture, so it is perfectly appropriate for the FA to celebrate its 150^th anniversary by inviting Scotland to play at Wembley.

Wembley used to be a place of pilgrimage for Scotland fans, who greatly relished their trips to London every two years. A legendary victory there would inspire another generation of supporters to make the journey, like the 5-1 thrashing handed out in 1928 by the team that was instantly dubbed the Wembley Wizards.

Of course, there was 1967 when Scotland humbled Sir Alf Ramsey’s side on the same turf on which they had won the World Cup a year previously. Sure, the score was only 3-2 but the Scottish performance was personified by Jim Baxter, playing keepie-uppie with the ball as he sauntered down the left wing.

There are also one or two occasions they don’t talk about much in Scottish pubs. The 7-2 defeat in 1955, the 9-3 battering in 1961 or the 1975 episode, when Rangers’ Stewart Kennedy picked the ball from his net five times. “They shot the wrong Kennedy,” said the graffiti on Glasgow walls.

By the time I started going to Wembley the fixture’s days were numbered because of hooliganism. In 1977 the Scottish support had celebrated a 2-1 win by leaving with the pitch and goalposts. England casuals began to appear in Glasgow in the 1980s and the annual meeting of the sides was abandoned at the end of that decade.

Scotland did return to Wembley for Euro 96, only for Gary McAllister to miss a crucial penalty kick, which was followed by a glorious strike by Paul Gascoigne who, to rub a barrel of salt into gaping Scottish wounds, was Scotland’s player of the year due to his Rangers form. In 1999 Don Hutchinson netted the winner in a Euro 2000 playoff at Wembley, but sadly for the Scots, Paul Scholes had scored twice in the first leg at Hampden Park four days previously.

That was that – until this week’s episode. Mind you, whatever happens at Wembley between Roy’s boys and Gordon’s Grenadiers, it won’t change the answer to one favourite pub quiz question:

Q: Who was the last native Scot to score against England in a men’s senior competitive fixture? (answer below the picture of Don Hutchison's 1999 winner)

A: Ray Houghton, born in Glasgow in 1962, for the Republic of Ireland at Euro 88.

The Auld Enemy is at 9.30pm on Tuesday 13 August on BBC Radio 5 live. You can listen again for seven days by clicking here. 5 live has full commentary on England v Scotland from 8pm on Wednesday 14 August.

The future of the England football team

2013-05-25T01:03:28+00:00

When I last sat down in the 5 live studios with Glenn Hoddle we were talking about the role of the number ten for Glenn's Top Ten Number Tens programme.

While discussing the number ten role we found a distinct lack English names cropping up- especially current English players. The Premier League has them a plenty - Mata, Silva, Bale, Corzola, Coutinho - but none of those are English. So even though we watch creative players every week, when international week comes round, they all disappear.

What interested me most was Glenn talking about how he was coached and how he wanted our young players to be coached. He kept speaking about walls. Who remembers kicking the ball against the wall all evening after school? We had a path down the side of our house and would kick the ball against the kitchen wall over and over; trying to hit an exact spot, left foot right foot, left foot right foot. Glenn said at Spurs the first hour of training was against a wall. Tell me one team where that happens now. I'd love to see it.

Glenn's passion for England, English players and their progress was so evident in that chat that it was obvious we needed a programme to explore it. So on Monday at midday we will sit down to discuss The Future of The England Football Team.

The programme comes at a time when we are looking at our game under an increased spotlight. It follows a weekend which sees an all-German Champions League Final. In the Bundesliga, homegrown players make up over 60%. That's the same percentage as in Spain's La Liga - the national league of the current World Cup and European Champions Spain. In England it's around half that. Is this the real problem with the England national team? It's just one of the issues we will discuss on the programme.

As Editor of 606 I see so many calls from England fans bemoaning the perceived lack of passion from players in their country's shirt. Glenn completely disagrees with this and thinks the problems lie in improving the culture, the technique and the quality of the side rather than the passion of the players themselves.

You can interact with the show by texting 85058 or tweeting along using @bbc5live. We look forward to hearing from you the listeners about where you see the problems with the England national side lie and what solutions you can offer.

You can listen to The Future of England Football by clicking here until Monday 3 June

The 606 Awards

2013-05-18T16:21:31+00:00

After a hat-trick of awards for Gareth Bale, we've got award fever of our own in the 606 office and are currently building up to the inaugural 606 End of Season Awards.

As part of 5live's Big Day Out on June 1 we'll be celebrating the best calls, fans, teams, trips, designated drivers and football tweeters of the season with you for company. If you haven't got your tickets yet go here.

The 606 judging panel* will decide the majority of the awards but call of the year is going to be voted for by you. We'll announce the shortlist on the show on Saturday 11th May and you'll be able to vote for your call of the year by text.

In the meantime - do you know anyone who should be recognised as 606's Fan of the Year? Is it their dedication and the work they put in behind-the-scenes? Are they the ones that get the chants going? Or are they just the biggest fan of your club? We want you to nominate your fan of the season. Fill out this quick form to nominate who you think deserves it.

A shortlist will be announced a week before the Big Day Out, with the winner being announced on the night.

We’ve had a different non-league team of the week on every show throughout the season. So it’s only right that we have a non-league team of the season. We've had so many great stories from Mansfield manager, Paul Cox getting a Bentley for the result against Barrow to Matt Le Tissier coming out of retirement to sign for Guernsey FC and getting them promoted. Should your team take the honours? Who wants to be shown last on Match of the Day every week anyway? Non-league football is definitely where it's at in 2013.

Robbie has spent the season giving shout-outs to designated drivers up and down the country - the shandymen of football. But who has put in the real miles? Who deserves the ultimate Shandyman honour? 5 Live's non-league show presenter Caroline Barker and a very special guest will announce the winner on the night.

Only the most loyal of fans travel to grounds all around the country to watch their team. But which is the best trip? Which fixture you look forward to every year and why? Is it the best town for a few drinks pre-game? Is it the best away end in the ground? Or does it just serve the best bovril? We’ll be crowning the ‘Best Away Day’ on June 1^st.

And if you’re a footballer these days, you have to be on Twitter – it almost comes with the title. But who’s a must-follow? If you could only follow one footballer on Twitter, who would it be? The 606 judging panel will be picking one must-follow and crowing them our "Football tweeter of the season"

So that's the awards:

Call of the season

Fan of the season

Non League team of the season

Designated Driver of the season

Best Away Day

Football tweeter of the season

Let us know what you think on our Facebook page or using #606Awards on Twitter.

*The 606 judging panel are the production team that put the show together each and every week.

Footballer of the Year or a savage and a lout?

2013-05-01T07:29:54+00:00

No current footballer divides opinion like Luis Suarez.

There are no grey areas. You’re either with him or against him.

Given the outrage triggered by his bite on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic – the second of his career, remember – it seemed highly likely that former colleagues and team-mates would all go to ground.

A friend of mine, a Liverpool fan since the Shankly era, emailed me in the aftermath of the Chelsea game, “media hype succeeds and judges a peck on the arm, which didn't mark or break skin, a worse offence than lunging two footed challenges and violent stamps.”

I knew he’d take a strong line in support of Liverpool’s latest number seven. But what about the people who knew him and worked with him at his clubs in Holland?

At Groningen, where aged 18 he’d spent one season, before leaving under a cloud for a fee decided only after arbitration?

At Ajax, where his penultimate game, before leaving for Liverpool, had seen him bite the PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal in 2010?

What about Bakkal himself, now playing for Dynamo Moscow?

We’ve made contact without getting an interview. Yet. There’s still time. But other key players in the Suarez story were happy to talk to us.

Football people like Ajax team manager Herman Pinkster, FC Groningen Technical director Henk Veldmarte, former Groningen team-mate Hugo Alves, and Ghana’s world cup striker Dominic Adiyiah. And they helped to build a picture of a player with so many contradictions.

A man, we learnt, who’s meticulous about punctuality. You arrange to see him at 09:00, and if you’re a moment late he’ll want to know why.

Tell him you’ll do something for him, and he’ll be on your case if there’s any delay.

A teenage striker who convinced representatives from FC Groningen they had to sign him just 15 minutes into the first match they’d watched him playing for Nacional in Uruguay.

A captain at Ajax who made it his business to welcome new young players into the dressing room, toning down the initiation rituals for their benefit.

A proud Uruguayan who keeps the only key to the room in his house in Montevideo which serves as a museum for his career. Entry is by invitation only.

The presenter of the Dutch equivalent of Match of the Day, Tom Egbers, described him as “charming, always friendly, unlike so many footballers.

“He would always give an answer, never nasty or aggressive.”

A former amateur footballer himself in Amsterdam, Egbers put him in his top three of Ajax stars along with Johann Cruyff and Marco Van Basten adding “In terms of spectacular football, he tops the bill.”

So what’s not to like in a player who scored 91 goals in 139 appearances in Holland and draws such compliments?

Henk Veldmarte who recommended his signing in June 2006 reflected on his talent like this, “He’s a grown up person but the way he likes playing football sometimes also has the mentality of a child.”

One of his closest friends in Europe is Herman Pinkster, who helped him settle in Amsterdam. Among a number of telling insights, he offered this gem. “We really had to adapt. We had never had a player that was so determined to win games, to focus like a soldier in a war to win the points.”

Pinkster who was honoured to be invited to attend the Uruguyan’s wedding recalled a crucial game near the end of one intense title battle. Ajax won ugly 1-0 but that wasn’t good enough for the captain.

“He was so angry that Ajax had played badly.

“The coach tried to calm him down but he could not enjoy the moment of winning, (he was) so disappointed in the performance. “

Pinkster is also revealing within the programme about how he and the club tackled Suarez when this ‘winning mentality’ became something darker, more devious.

Desire for victory

It was a theme first explored by a former Groningen team-mate, Hugo Alvez from Brazil who’d acted as his interpreter and guide on Suarez’ arrival. We were sitting in one of the bright new executive lounges at the club’s 22,000 capacity Euroborg stadium - rather like the Madjeski Stadium only with green seats - two hours outside Amsterdam. (I had to ask Hugo questions in English and he answered in Portuguese. So I had to believe that his answers were not about his favourite music, food or underpants.)

His answers lost nothing in translation. He likes and admires Suarez very much.

“But when he was on the pitch, everything changed. The desire for victory is with him at every moment,” he said.

“That is why sometimes for some people he seems to go over the limits.

“To help his team to win he can do things that other players would never do.

“In the middle of an emotional game, he can vent it in a wrong way.”

Alves condemned the bite on Ivanovic but his next answer also carried echoes of my friend’s email. “Sometimes I see people tackling violently with clear intention of breaking the opponent’s leg, which is much worse than to bite someone.

“And those players get (a) one, two game ban, when the intention was just one to break, to destroy physically their opponent.

“And Luis with this kind of attitude can bite someone…of course it is against the law.

“But I see players with a much worse intention who do not get the same kind of stick Luis gets.”

'Never do it again'

Tom Egbers challenged Suarez over the original biting incident in 2010. And he still remembers the conversation.

“He told me ‘I want to win. I do not approve of myself but I desperately need to win and I’ll do anything to win. Anything.’

“Something in his brain happens. He genuinely apologized to the player, and humbly accepted the seven game ban.

“He said he would never do it again.” Right.

Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah who spoke to us from Ukraine and whose header Suarez saved on the goal-line with his hand to keep Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup told us, “He needs to grow up.”

Perhaps Herman Pinkster is the closest to understanding what makes Suarez such a compelling, controversial personality.

“He’ll always be the boy from Montevideo.”

What's Eating Luis Suarez is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 1 May on BBC 5 live. The programme will be available to download here after broadcast.

5 live Sport's rights deals: continuing to bring sport to life on the radio

2013-04-18T10:59:13+00:00

We sometimes say that 5 live is "the home of live sport." So what does that actually mean?

Well, we pride ourselves on covering a wide range of sports live - and from inside the venue. In fact, we aim to get as close to the action as possible. You might have heard Iain Carter and John Murray whispering while commentating out on the course at Augusta last weekend to avoid distracting the players during The Masters (yes, they are that close!).

We feel this kind of access is essential to capture the true drama of an event and to report on all the stories which seem to inevitably develop around sport.

However, just like television, you have to acquire rights to provide radio commentary from inside a stadium or from the course. These rights can sometimes be hotly contested in a competitive market place.

As such, we were pleased recently to extend our current Premier League commentary rights packages for a further three years from the start of next season. We have four out of the seven packages available - Saturday lunchtime kick-offs, first choice at Saturday 3pm, Sunday 4pm kick-offs, plus Monday and Tuesday night matches.

When combined with our coverage of the SPL, the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup, Football League and international football, we think it makes a pretty compelling proposition for our football-following listeners. That's not to mention our coverage of the World Cup in Brazil coming up next year.

We are also committed to covering a wide range of sports - not just football - and this summer we are particularly excited by the prospect of a home Ashes series on Test Match Special on 5 live Sports Extra. Our England cricket commentary deal with the ECB lasts until 2019 so plenty more from Aggers and the team for a few years yet!

So how do we decide which rights to acquire and what sporting event we should cover on 5 live? To be honest, it's fairly simple: we choose what we think is most editorially compelling for the audience. We will use audience research and listening data to try to inform these decisions too. Of course not everyone will agree with our choices but they are always taken in good faith and with the audience in the forefront of our thinking.

I understand some listeners have asked why we haven't covered some of the recent Champions League matches not involving British sides. This has not been a question of rights so much, more an editorial decision based on the potential cost of coverage and the level of audience interest. We will be commentating on the Champions League final at Wembley and possibly the second leg of one or both of the semi-finals.

We do also have a responsibility to cover those other sports which perhaps don't hit the mainstream agenda as much as football and cricket - and we take that responsibility very seriously. So, expect to hear a lot more Olympic, Paralympic and women's sport over the coming months on 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra.

Ultimately, everyone at BBC Radio Sport loves sport and we all feel hugely privileged to provide what we hope is one of the best live sport services around. I am also lucky to manage some of the best broadcasters in the business who quite simply bring sport to life on the radio.

For a full list of upcoming 5 live commentaries visit our commentaries page.

5 live Sport: Live from Bradford City

2013-02-20T10:00:22+00:00

In five days time League Two's Bradford City will take on the Premier League's Swansea City in the Capital One League Cup Final at Wembley.

To mark the occasion Mark Pougatch will tonight host 5 live Sport from Valley Parade, the home of Bradford City. He’ll be joined by Bradford manager Phil Parkinson, joint Chairman Mark Lawn, former players and managers including Paul Jewell and Jamie Lawrence as well as an audience of fans.

But let's not forget this is a huge day for Swansea too; you'll also hear from Terry Yorath, who played and managed both clubs, as well as Brian Flynn who managed the Welsh side for two seasons.

In the last 12 years Bradford City have spiralled down the leagues. They were in the top flight at the turn of the millennium but are now in the fourth tier of English football. Their achievement on making it to the League Cup Final and beating heavyweight opponents on the way - including Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa - has certainly put the club back on the map.

We thought Valley Parade was the place to do a programme to illustrate this remarkable run. We hope to get a real sense of the rejuvenating effect this has had on a city that has had to deal with the worst fire disaster in the history of English football – where on Saturday 11 May 1985 56 people lost their lives - riots in 2001 and which has suffered economically during the recession.

In organising a programme from a stadium you have to think about the makeup of the audience. Who do you invite to get a cross section of the community, and who should be on your panel of guests? Fans group The Friends of Bradford City have been brilliant, helping with an audience and people who can talk to us about the club's history to give a first-hand account of what this means to them, their club and to Bradford as a whole.

Don't forget you can listen to Bradford's and Swansea big day out on Sunday at 4pm. Full build up begins with Ian Payne from 12pm here on 5 live.

Garth Brameld is a producer for 5 live Sport. You can listen to 5 live Sport live from Valley Parade on Wednesday 20 February at 7.30pm. It will also be available after the programme as a 5 live Sport Special download.

Ajax - The Jewish club

2013-02-04T08:39:16+00:00

Few football clubs in Europe can match the achievements of Ajax Amsterdam.

Four times winners of the European Cup - three in a row between 1971 and 1973 - the current Dutch champions are still renowned for their 'total football' made famous by the brilliant Johan Cruyff during their European domination.

Walking the corridors of the Amsterdam Arena past pictures of famous faces and sitting in the office of team manager David Endt surrounded by old boots and shirts and personal momentos of great Ajax names reminds you of the club's standing.

But their reputation as a Jewish club sits less comfortably at the new stadium far removed from the Jewish neighbourhood around the city's De Meer district where their old ground was situated.

And it could even lead to a challenge through the courts in the next months by Jewish groups who feel the club is not addressing the distress caused by home supporters calling themselves "Super Jews" and chanting "Joden, Joden" ("Jews, Jews") at games.

More than three quarters of Amsterdam's Jewish population died in the Holocaust. And the scars are still felt by surviving relatives living in the city.

Donald Speelman, a retired Jewish businessman stopped our interview twice because he was overcome when discussing why he stopped going to games after 50 years and why he's now fighting for action from the club.

He said that Ajax with a new hierarchy in charge, inspired by Cruyff, have acknowledged that something needs to be done.

The question is what and how. None of the people I met agreed on a solution. In fact the only common ground was that there would be no instant, lasting improvement.

Endt, a former player before his current role told me "We never chose for the position of being called a Jewish club. It came over us and that sometimes hurts us because it has bad effects."

Inside the Ajax changing room

Very few of the fans let alone the players, past and present, are actually Jewish. Yet this Jewish identity is readily embraced. It's worn like a badge of honour by supporters alongside in some cases, tattoos of the Star of David.

One of the hardcore F-side fans I met in a city bar described the power of the "feeling of being Jewish" even though he and most of his friends weren't.

Dutch film director Eddy Terstall is a longstanding Ajax fan but not a Jew. He also doesn't join in chants like "Everybody who's not jumping is a Jew".

And smiling he recounted a tale which seemed to sum up the widely held view among the Ajax following.

"A friend of mine works at the airport security and he's visibly Jewish. At one point he had to check Ajax fans on the way to an away match and they noticed. "Hey, it's a Jew". So they put him on their shoulders!"

The fun - if that's what they'd call it - stops, though, when rival fans at clubs like Feyenoord and Den Haag sing about gas chambers and make hissing noises.

And that's why Jewish groups believe changes have to come before such anti semitism becomes more overtly violent.

A former club chairman who is Jewish admitted that he and other officials haven't properly challenged this disturbing rivalry, " I failed and my predecessors failed and the mayor failed and everybody failed."

The incident of racist abuse at last Tuesday's Cup match at AZ Alkmaar made big headlines in the Netherlands.

You wonder what renewed momentum that furore may offer Ajax in tackling their issue of identity and so achieving another significant success.

Ajax - The Jewish Club is on 5 live at 9pm on Monday, 4 February and available to listen again for seven days after broadcast. It will be available here as a download.