Anyone who watched football matches from the UEFA Women’s EUROs 2025 during July, may have spotted live audio description as part of their station’s coverage or through accessing the UEFA Women’s EURO app.
In the UK, broadcaster ITV in partnership with Guinness, provided audio descriptive commentary to all of its coverage of England and Wales matches with the aim being to bring to life TV pictures for a blind and partially sighted audience, giving a level of visual detail of the on-pitch action and the surrounding stadium atmosphere beyond the standard broadcast commentary.
Sonali Rai, RNIB’s Media Culture and Immersive Technology Lead said: “This is a real game changer for blind and partially sighted football fans to be able to enjoy football in real time and not be excluded from the magical moments that happen during tournament football.” On this occasion, England went all the way to lift the trophy in Basel.
Mark Trinder, ITV Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships, added: “We had an overwhelmingly positive response to ITV’s live descriptive commentary during the last two Six Nations Championships and I’m thrilled our partnership with Guinness means that we can extend it to the biggest sporting event of this summer. Live descriptive commentary means that families and friends with varying accessibility needs can finally enjoy live coverage together, making sports more inclusive for everyone.”
If anyone would like to learn more or get in touch about RNIB’s work on accessible media, audio descriptions or video games, please contact RNIB’s International Relations Team at InternationalRelations.Mailbox@rnib.org.uk.