Fans get chance to become match commentators at FIFA Women’s World Cup

Football fans have been given the opportunity to experience the FIFA Women’s World Cup as volunteer match commentators.

Selected volunteers are to be trained in match commentary and taught how to use special equipment so their game descriptions can be enjoyed by partially sighted and blind people inside the stadia.

A two-day training workshop will be held at Auckland’s Eden Park on April 5-6 for applicants selected to take part in the programme.

The initiative to provide Audio Descriptive Commentary (ADC) is to be delivered at the tournament by CAFE (Centre for Access to Football in Europe).

Specially trained commentators provide additional narration that describes all significant visual information during the match experience, such as body language, facial expression, scenery, action, clothing, colours, and anything else that is important to conveying the image, venue, match, event, or surrounding ambience.

Main photo: Match commentary benches at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil. Below, ADC equipment used at FIFA games. Photo: Alexandre Schneider — FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

In the context of a live football match, audio-descriptive commentary ensures that the partially sighted or blind fan (listener) has a complete understanding of the match he or she is attending and can more fully enjoy the match day experience alongside fellow fans.

FIFA say no prior experience of commentating or ADC is required, making this is a perfect opportunity for passionate football fans to learn a new skill and get involved in one of world football’s major events — the biggest ever FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 32 teams.

At the recent FIFA men’s World Cup in Qatar, Audio Descriptive Commentary was one of a number of accessibility services available, with fans being able to follow matches in Arabic and English.

How to apply for the training programme

Applicants must submit a 60-second audio recording of themselves commentating over a football clip of their choice, in English.

Successful candidates will be selected based on their overall aptitude for commentating. Applications will not be judged on the quality of the audio recording, i.e., no professional recording is required. A WhatsApp recording for example, would be sufficient.

When and where is the training?

The training, delivered by one of CAFE’s expert trainers, will take place on the following dates:

  • March 25-26, 2023: Melbourne / Naarm, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
  • March 28-29, 2023: Sydney / Gadigal, Stadium Australia
  • April 1-2, 2023: Brisbane / Meaanjin, Brisbane Rectangular Stadium
  • April 5-6, 2023: Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau, Eden Park

Participants need to be available for both days of the training and, if selected, to commentate on matches in your local host city during the tournament, between July 20 and August 20. All trainees who reach the required skill level at the end of the training will receive a CAFE certification.

How to apply

To apply, email [email protected] with your chosen training city in the email subject and your audio-recording by March 20, 2023.

Ticketing

There are Accessibility Tickets in the following categories for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: Wheelchair User Ticket; Easy Access Amenity Ticket and Easy Access Standard Ticket.

To find out more, and to apply for Accessibility Tickets, click here.

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