Championship Goals
Encyclopedia
The Championship was a British football television
programme featuring highlights from the Coca Cola Football League. It was almost always shown on Sunday mornings on ITV
, presented by Matt Smith
. Despite its name, it also covered Football League One
and Football League Two
matches, albeit to a lesser extent than Championship matches.
The show included various additional features since it began in August 2004 and had its format changed due to widespread criticism of the number of commercial breaks. Link scenes usually involved Smith speaking to camera from various parts of the stadium of the featured match, such as the dressing rooms, the referee's office, the boot room, the pie stand and so on.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme featuring highlights from the Coca Cola Football League. It was almost always shown on Sunday mornings on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, presented by Matt Smith
Matt Smith (broadcaster)
Matt Smith is a British broadcaster, and currently one of ITV Sport's main presenters.-Early life:Matt is a Modern Languages and Political Studies graduate from Sheffield City Polytechnic, where he studied from 1985-89. During that time he spent a year in Italy as part of his studies...
. Despite its name, it also covered Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
and Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
matches, albeit to a lesser extent than Championship matches.
The show included various additional features since it began in August 2004 and had its format changed due to widespread criticism of the number of commercial breaks. Link scenes usually involved Smith speaking to camera from various parts of the stadium of the featured match, such as the dressing rooms, the referee's office, the boot room, the pie stand and so on.
Presenter
- Matt SmithMatt Smith (broadcaster)Matt Smith is a British broadcaster, and currently one of ITV Sport's main presenters.-Early life:Matt is a Modern Languages and Political Studies graduate from Sheffield City Polytechnic, where he studied from 1985-89. During that time he spent a year in Italy as part of his studies...
was the presenter from the start and very rarely absent. On the rare occasions he was absent, Andy TownsendAndy TownsendAndrew "Andy" David Townsend is a former professional footballer, who played in two World Cups for the Republic of Ireland and is now a television and radio pundit....
, Robbie Earle, Craig Doyle and Dave Beckett deputised. Angus ScottAngus ScottAngus Scott is a well-known and respected footballer for man united and Sports Television presenter. He previously worked for ITV Sport and Setanta Sports. He mainly covers football, but has also hosted Rugby Union and Motorsport coverage.- Early career :...
previously had filled in before he left to work for Setanta SportsSetanta SportsSetanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
.
Pundits
- The pundits (who often reported too) were Robbie EarleRobbie EarleRobert Fitzgerald "Robbie" Earle MBE is an English-born Jamaican former international footballer who played as a midfielder. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals....
and Andy TownsendAndy TownsendAndrew "Andy" David Townsend is a former professional footballer, who played in two World Cups for the Republic of Ireland and is now a television and radio pundit....
. They gave their analysis on some games but usually reported in depth on one particular game in the Football League. As of the 2007–08 season, pundits were very rarely used on the programme.
Reporters
- The main reporters were Ned Boulting, Gabriel Clarke and Dave Beckett. There were also many occasional reporters such as Richard Henwood, Tom Skippings, Mike HallMike Hall (journalist)Mike Hall is a sports reporter and presenter for ITV regional news program Granada Reports. He grew up in Wigan alongside his brother and fellow Granada reporter Chris Hall. Hall was honoured in the 2009 O2 Media Awards. Previously he worked for a local newspaper in the Newton-le-Willows area....
, Andy Kerr, Mick Conway and Gary Bloom.
Commentators
- Commentators on The Championship were Peter DruryPeter DruryPeter Drury, born 1968, is ITV Sport's number two football commentator, a role he has held since joining the network in 1998.A politics graduate from Hull University, Peter began his career as a journalist with Hayters sports agency before joining BBC Radio Leeds in 1990 as a football and cricket...
, Jon ChampionJon ChampionJon Champion is ESPN UK's number one football commentator. Champion is a well-established and experienced commentator who has also worked for the BBC and ITV over the past 20 years. His late father David Champion was the deputy headmaster of the independent school Bootham School, York...
, Clive TyldesleyClive TyldesleyClive Tyldesley is an English sports commentator, who since 1998 has been the main football commentator for ITV. He has commentated on eleven Champions League finals, five FA Cup Finals and numerous World Cup and European Championship matches.-Career:Tyldesley was born in Radcliffe, Bury,...
and John RawlingJohn RawlingJohn Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...
. Others included Phil Duffell, Tony Jones, Bob Symonds, Martyn Dean, Trevor Harris, Donovan BlakeDonovan BlakeDonovan Livingston Blake is an American cricketer. Blake first represented the United States in the 2001 ICC Trophy and he went on to represent the States in a first-class game in the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup and then in their second ever One Day International, when they lost to the Australia...
. Angus Scott was also a regular commentator before his move to Setanta.
End of the show
- The show came to an end in May 2009 when ITV's Football League and League Cup highlights package expired. As of the 2009–10 season, the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
have taken over the highlights package and broadcast a similarly formatted programme called The Football League ShowThe Football League ShowThe Football League Show is a BBC One football television show hosted by Manish Bhasin, featuring highlights from the Championship, League One and League Two. It began on 8 August, 2009, at 11.45pm and immediately follows Match of the Day on Saturdays...
on Saturday nights after the existing Match of the DayMatch of the DayMatch of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
. Highlights are also available online at the BBC Sport website.