Sporting Witness

Sporting Witness is a short BBC World Service podcast that tells the biggest stories in sport through the people who were actually there. Each episode is about nine minutes – roughly the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea – and is built around one person’s memories.

You don’t even have to follow sport to get hooked on our podcast. A lot of the episodes are about so much more – like identity, obsession, and politics. Take the surprising story behind the West Germany shirt from the 1990 World Cup final – a zigzag of black, red and gold that’s now one of the most collected pieces of kit in football history. Or the tale of Tonton Zola Moukoko, a virtually unknown Swedish-Congolese footballer who became an accidental cult hero to millions of gamers, thanks to a stats glitch that turned him into an internet legend.

Then there’s the plasterer who somehow ended up in a boxing ring with a genuine legend, the forgotten Women’s World Cup that FIFA didn’t recognise for decades, and the man who swam the entire length of the Amazon.

Finally, there are the stories that stick with you simply because they’re so unlikely: the moment Diana Ross missed a penalty at the World Cup, the day a person finally beat a horse in a race, and the tennis player who fled the Nazis to keep her career alive.

Join the millions of listeners around the world who tune in to Sporting Witness. You don’t need to know the offside rule or the ins and outs of cricket to become a fan.