Experiencing the FIFA World Cup 2026 with Accessible Commentary

I’m Jonny Marshall, Research Officer in the Media, Culture and Immersive Technologies team at RNIB. One of the areas of my work that I enjoy most is supporting broadcasters to make sports coverage more accessible for blind and partially sighted viewers.

For me, this is not just a professional interest. As someone with sight loss, and as a sportsman who enjoys playing tennis, goalball and almost anything else I can try, accessible sport is also deeply personal to me.

One of the highlights of the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been the range of accessible commentary options available for blind and partially sighted football fans. During the tournament I have been trying the different services to see how each one brings the game to life. Each option offers a slightly different experience and has its own strengths.

The first service I tried was BBC Radio 5 Live during England’s dramatic match against Mexico.

One of the biggest improvements is how easy it is to access. Instead of having to use the Red Button, which has not always been the easiest option to use, the Radio 5 Live commentary can now be selected by pressing the Audio Description button on your TV. This makes switching to the accessible commentary much simpler.

As you would expect from BBC Radio 5 Live, the commentary is full of energy and emotion. When Jude Bellingham scored twice in quick succession, the commentators captured the excitement brilliantly. Their experience of covering major football matches really came across and helped recreate the feeling of watching a World Cup game.

One of the strongest moments came later in the match. After England were reduced to ten players following a red card for Jarell Quansah, Mexico began putting England under heavy pressure. As England dropped into a back five, you could hear the tension building in the commentators’ voices. It was a great example of how tone of voice can be just as important as description in helping listeners experience the match.

I also liked the way statistics were included throughout the game. Possession figures and other key statistics were regularly mentioned and helped build a better picture of how the match was developing.

Before kick-off there was a brief description of the team kits and a little information about the stadium, although these descriptions were fairly short as the main focus remained on the football.

There was very little conversation away from the action. The match itself was so exciting that the commentators stayed focused on the football for almost the entire game.

One of the biggest strengths of this service is that it works very well as a shared viewing experience. Because the Radio 5 Live commentary is linked to the television pictures and can be selected through the Audio Description option, I was able to watch with my family. They enjoyed the television coverage while I received the extra description from the radio commentary. We were all sharing the same experience together.

Another feature I enjoyed was that the coverage returned to the television presentation team before kick-off and at half time. This meant I could still hear the television presenters and former players giving their analysis before the match and during the break. While Radio 5 Live has excellent pundits of its own, hearing the television team helped me stay connected with the same coverage everyone else was watching.

It is also useful that the Radio 5 Live commentary can be listened to again after the match, making it easy to catch up or listen back to key moments.

The second service I tried was ITV’s Audio Described Commentary during England’s match against Panama.

Like the BBC coverage, the ITV commentary can be selected using the Audio Description button on your TV. Although it is not available live on ITVX, the Audio Described Commentary is available afterwards on catch up, which is useful if you miss the live match or want to listen again.

Listeners still hear the familiar presentation team and former players before kick-off, so you do not miss out on the build-up before the game starts.

Once the match begins, the level of description increases noticeably.

Before kick off the commentator gave detailed descriptions of the stadium and the pre match presentation. One description that stood out was of the giant national flags placed either side of the FIFA logo in the centre circle. The commentator said the flags looked as though they were almost “hugging the FIFA logo”, which created a clear picture in my mind.

The players were also described in detail. England’s players were wearing dark blue raincoats while Panama’s players were not. Marcus Rashford was described as having his red England shirt visible underneath his coat. These are the kinds of details that many blind and partially sighted supporters would otherwise never know about.

One of the biggest strengths of ITV’s service is that there is only one commentator. This means there is very little conversation away from the action and the commentary stays focused on describing the game.

Compared with BBC Radio 5 Live, the ITV commentary is slightly more descriptive and much more descriptive than the standard television commentary. Throughout the match it was always clear who had possession of the ball, whether passes were short or long, and whether the ball was moving to the left or the right. This made the game very easy to follow.

The commentator also showed an excellent understanding of the players’ positioning and movement around the pitch. It was easy to follow the tactical shape of both teams and understand how attacks were developing. This is a noticeable improvement compared with some of the early live audio described sports commentaries introduced several years ago.

There were also useful descriptions away from the ball. The goalkeeper’s yellow kit was mentioned, Thomas Tuchel was described waving his finger from the touchline and players’ reactions, such as throwing their arms up in frustration, helped add extra context to the match.

The commentator’s voice became more excited during key moments, although naturally the game never reached the same level of intensity as England’s match against Mexico, so there were fewer moments that required that extra level of excitement.

Overall, the commentary creates a very detailed picture of both the football and the occasion.

The detailed descriptions before kick-off may be more information than some sighted viewers want when watching together. However, once the match starts, the commentary works very well as a shared experience. The extra description simply provides a richer picture of the action while allowing everyone to enjoy the game together.

Unlike BBC Radio 5 Live, ITV does not use a co commentator during the Audio Described Commentary. Some sighted viewers may enjoy hearing extra analysis from another voice, but from an accessibility point of view having one commentator makes the game easier to follow because there is less discussion interrupting the description of the action.

The final service I tried was FIFA’s Audio Descriptive Commentary during Portugal against Spain.

The service is available through the FIFA Audio Description app, which is straightforward to download and simple to use.

The style of commentary is very similar to the audio description services available at many football stadiums across the UK. It provides detailed ball by ball commentary and makes it easy to build a clear picture of what is happening on the pitch.

Like ITV, there is only one commentator. This keeps the focus on the football and makes it easy to follow the movement of the ball and the positioning of the players.

The commentary stayed focused on the match for almost the whole game, with only small amounts of extra information added in when appropriate. This worked well because it kept me fully involved in the action.

The position of the ball was always very clear. The commentator regularly explained whether play was close to the touchline, taking place in the defensive half or moving down the wing through a series of passes. Distances were also included, such as describing a shot from around 30 yards.

The commentator also described visual details such as the players’ kits, including one team wearing red shirts with gold accents. These details helped create a richer picture of the match without taking attention away from the football.

The commentator also showed good emotion during key moments. When Bruno Fernandes created a dangerous chance, you could hear the excitement in the commentator’s voice, making the moment feel even more engaging.

Another excellent example came when Cristiano Ronaldo almost scored. The commentator explained that Ronaldo had his back to goal and attempted an acrobatic effort. Although it was not quite a bicycle kick, he managed to swing his foot around and lift the ball over the goalkeeper. The commentator then explained that because the goalkeeper had stayed on his knees rather than going fully to ground, he was able to recover and make the save. This level of detail made it easy to picture exactly how the chance unfolded.

Another feature I liked was what happened at half time. Instead of leaving listeners with silence until the second half started, someone stayed on the commentary to describe what was happening around the stadium. During the Portugal versus Spain match they explained that the pitch was made from a mix of different types of grass, including Kentucky bluegrass. They also described the work being carried out by the ground staff to repair the pitch and explained that the sprinklers had been switched on to help prepare it for the second half. These details helped keep me connected to the match and made it feel more like being at the stadium rather than simply waiting for play to restart.

One area where I felt the service could improve was the amount of crowd noise. There was not much atmosphere included in the audio feed and I felt this reduced some of the excitement. One of the things that made England’s match against Mexico so memorable on BBC Radio 5 Live was hearing the crowd react throughout the game. That atmosphere really helped bring the match to life and I missed some of that here.

Despite this, the quality of the description itself was excellent. It was accurate, detailed and easy to follow throughout the match.

After trying all three services, I do not think there is one option that is better than the others. Instead, each one offers something different.

BBC Radio 5 Live is the best option if you want an emotional commentary and a service that works well when watching with friends and family.

ITV Audio Described Commentary provides the richest level of visual description and is excellent for building a detailed picture of both the football and everything happening around it.

FIFA Audio Descriptive Commentary offers a very detailed ball by ball service that closely recreates the experience of using audio description inside a football stadium.

The most positive thing about the FIFA World Cup 2026 is that blind and partially sighted supporters now have a genuine choice of accessible commentary. Whether you want to share the experience with family, enjoy the richest level of description or simply follow every pass and every tackle, there is now a service that meets those needs.