Jacqui Oatley MBE

University of Wolverhampton Pro-Chancellor

Jacqueline Anne Oatley MBE is a British sports presenter, hosting mostly football for ITV Sport and BBC Sport.

She is best known for being the first female commentator on BBC One's Match of the Day, which she went on to present in March 2015. She is an FA qualified football coach, a director of Women in Football and a married mother of two young children. She is also the UK's first female darts presenter, covering Professional Darts Corporation tournaments on ITV4 and the first female presenter of the BBC's flagship sports news radio show, Sports week, on BBC 5 Live. In August 2015, Oatley was named eighth most influential woman in sport by The Independent newspaper.

As well as Match of the Day, she has also fronted Final Score for the BBC and The Football League Show, completing the set of five broadcast roles on the show, and World Football Focus.

She is football and darts anchor for ITV Sport, hosting their live international events. She was a presenter of ITV's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations coverage and in 2014 anchored their FA Cup highlights programmes.

Oatley fronts the BBC's live women's football coverage; she has anchored the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship and the BBC Women's Football Show. She is a studio guest pundit on TV2 in Norway.

Oatley was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and diversity in sport. The award was recognition of her work behind the scenes championing the role of women working in football as well as women's football.

Her depth of knowledge, sense of fun and relaxed style has consistently placed her at the vanguard f sports broadcasting since becoming the first female commentator on British network radio in 2005.

Jacqui is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, ESPN and IMG (the Premier League’s worldwide television channel), specialising in football. She also reports or commentates on live football matches on a weekly basis for the BBC – alternating between Radio 5 Live and BBC1’s Final Score.

Ever at the cutting edge of sports broadcasting, Jacqui commentated for BBC 5 Live on several matches at the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, in doing so completing a ‘full set’ of commentary medals, alongside television stints at Euro 2008, the Beijing Olympics and the London Olympics.

She regularly presents sports news on the BBC News Channel, BBC World and has recently fronted live England women’s football matches on BBC2. She is ESPN’s host of their FA Women’s Super League (FAWSL) Show and a guest pundit on the English Premier League for TV2 in Norway.

A keen sportswoman herself, it took a serious knee injury in 2000 to see Jacqui make the switch from a career in intellectual property rights management to sports broadcasting; culminating in the securing of a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism, to add to her BA Hons degree in German.

Aside from covering sports as varied as tennis, rugby league and MotoGP, she has also reported from the World Snooker Championship, the Open Golf Championship and Royal Ascot – not to mention a stint as the voice of TV classic, It’s A Knockout for BBC’s Sport Relief.

Oatley was born in Wolverhampton and brought up in Codsall South Staffs. She is a fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers. She attended the all-girls junior school, St Dominic's in Brewood, Staffordshire. Oatley passed her A-Levels at Wolverhampton Grammar School, and studied at University of Leeds, graduating with a degree in German in 1996. Oatley spent a year travelling the world, and then moved to London to work in intellectual property as a Sales and Marketing Manager, then Key Account Manager. While playing amateur football for Chiswick Ladies Football Club, Oatley sustained a dislocated knee cap and ruptured ligaments, which resulted in a reconstruction operation and ten months recovering on crutches. With further operations to follow, she was told she would no longer be able to play sport. That news prompted her decision to change career and train to become a journalist, with the aim of working in sport - particularly her beloved football.

She is a strong supporter of Wolverhampton and the Black Country, recently anchoring the Wolverhampton City Council regeneration video for MIPM.

Jacqui was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University in 2016 and has undertaken activities to support the University as an Honorary.