Zim commentator to voice WC final for BBC
By Robson Sharuko.
There will be a Zimbabwean voice bringing the drama of the 2010 World Cup final to millions of listeners on the BBC World Service radio broadcast on Sunday.
Stanley Katsande, the veteran commentator who was recruited from ZBC as part of an all-star pan African team working on the BBC World Service 2010 World Cup team, has been given the job to cover the World Cup final.
He will be one of the two English language commentators who will cover the grand chapter that will bring a close to the historic World Cup. Insiders revealed yesterday that Katsande has been given the job to cover the World Cup final after impressing his supervisors and listeners with both his style and command of the language and knowledge of the game.
The BBC secured English and Swahili commentary rights from Fifa for this World Cup and has been broadcasting live commentary — in the two languages — on FM relays across Africa. Their initial focus was on the six African teams that represented the continent at this tournament but they have since spread their coverage to all the games, including the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.
The agreement with Fifa and the African Union of Broadcasters resulted in the BBC World Service’s English language team drafting in a raft of commentators from across the continent for the coverage of this World Cup. The BBC World Service’s English language team is made up of Farayi Mungazi, who learnt his trade at ZBC, Richard Connelly, Richard Fleming and Piers Edwards.
Mungazi has turned into one of the most authoritative voices on African football in the world.
Respected by coaches and players alike, Mungazi has created a reputation as a firm and fair analyst and his star continues to glow. The four members of the BBC World Service’s English language have since been joined by Arjun Vidyarthi, a sports editor with Radio Africa in Kenya; Malik Jones, a journalist at Gambia Radio and TV Service; and Stanley Katsande, a commentator and analyst on both radio and television for the ZBC.
“These three journalists will act as additional commentators and pundits during the tournament,” the BBC said in a statement. Jerry Timmins, Head of Region for Africa and the Middle East, BBC World Service, gave an insight into the assignment where the Zimbabwean duo has been playing a big part.
“The BBC will be reporting and celebrating every twist and turn of the World Cup with our audiences across sub-Saharan Africa,” he said in a statement.
“Our commentaries in English for Africa and Swahili will be supplied to over 400 FM stations across Africa and it’s great to see journalists from other African stations joining the BBC commentary teams. This is a real partnership helping to bring Africa’s World Cup to African audiences.”
The BBC have a large battalion of journalists covering the World Cup and Katsande and Mungazi have joined an elite company that includes former England captain Gary Lineker, who is leading the BBC TV team, and has been providing live coverage from a studio in Cape Town. Some of the biggest names in English football are also working for the Team BBC here including Alan Shearer, Jurgen Klinsmann and Emannuel Adebayor.
[newsletter]
