Nationality England Role Sports commentator Name Mike Ingham | Employer BBC Sport Occupation Football commentator | |
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Born 1950 Cheshire, England Residence Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom | ||
Mike Ingham MBE (born 1950 in Cheshire) is an English football commentator and broadcaster.
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Early life
He grew up in Duffield and Quarndon and attended the Belper School (then The Herbert Strutt School) in Belper. He gained a Bachelor of Law degree.
Career
He began his career working for BBC Radio Derby in 1973, later joining the BBC in London in 1979.
For some years he regularly hosted the Saturday afternoon sports programme Sport on Two, and around 1984 he also became a match commentator, working alongside Peter Jones and Bryon Butler. In 1991, he took over from Butler as the BBC's football correspondent.
Five Live
From 1990, Ingham worked alongside Alan Green as BBC Radio 5 Live's principal commentating pair, working on FA Cup Finals, World Cup finals, European Cup finals and virtually all the biggest matches in Britain and throughout the world, with many of his commentaries also being heard on the BBC World Service. He is noted for his measured, eloquent style, often seen as something of a throwback to earlier days of sports broadcasting. He also commentated on the BBC's coverage of Princess Diana's funeral in 1997 and co-presented from the stage at the Live Earth concert in 2007 where he, alongside Alan Green, introduced The Pussycat Dolls.
In 2004, Ingham was promoted as chief football correspondent, becoming renowned with fans for "thinking aloud" when offering his opinion on the soccer matters of the day.
After the 2014 World Cup, Ingham retired from his role as correspondent and commentator. He will continue to present football specials for BBC Radio 5 Live.
Personal life
Mike Ingham lives in the Chiltern district of Buckinghamshire with his wife Lorna and two sons Marshall and George Ingham. He is a keen record collector and music fan, and occasionally hosted Andy Peebles' show on Radio 1 during the early 1980s.
Ingham was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.