Show overview
Sporting Witness has been publishing since 2011, and across the 15 years since has built a catalogue of 678 episodes. That works out to roughly 110 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run under ten minutes — most land between 9 min and 10 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Sports show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 34 episodes already out so far this year. Published by BBC.
From the publisher
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
Latest Episodes
View all 678 episodesCreating the English Premier League
The first Ultimate Frisbee World Championship
The first time women played basketball at the Olympics
When Hearts’ dream season turned sour
When the NFL came to Europe
The start of the Mexican Wave
Nadal describes his historic Wimbledon win over Federer
The making of West Germany’s iconic 1990 football shirt
Rebuilding Ronaldo’s knee
Brazil 1-7 Germany: Brazil's heaviest defeat
Pickles the dog finds the World Cup trophy
When Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup
Mexico’s Cachirules scandal
Shakhtar Donetsk win the UEFA Cup
Leicester City’s Premier League win
Nigeria’s 12 year wait for gold
The Juventus match-fixing scandal
Making Escape to Victory
The Fabiola Rule
International football's biggest ever beating: 31-0
In April 2001, the small island nation of American Samoa took on Australia in the World Cup qualifiers. You could only play for the team if you held an American passport, which automatically ruled out the majority of the American Samoans, leaving them to resorting to picking schoolboys to play for them.What followed was the biggest defeat in international football – 31-0.In 2024, goalkeeper Nicky Salapu told Uma Doraiswamy about how he felt as the 31 goals flew in past him.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.(Photo: Nicky Salapu in goal for American Samoa against Australia in 2001. Credit: Darren England/Allsport Getty Images)