Jonty Colman
Jonty Colman turns complicated sports schedules, tournament formats and fan traditions into clear, accessible explainers for BBC Sport. He covers football and other major sports with a question-led approach, most often framing stories around the “why”, “how” and “when” that matter to fans. His work ranges from deepening understanding of international breaks and domestic postponements to exploring why England supporters sing Sweet Caroline and Wonderwall at World Cup 2026 matches.
Fixture scheduling and competition formats
Colman’s explainers on football calendars focus on the mechanics behind seemingly opaque decisions, such as why the September international break extends across three weeks and how that affects domestic leagues. He unpacks why Europa League fixtures are occasionally played on Wednesdays, linking broadcast arrangements and fixture congestion to the match-going experience.
His breakdown of the Nations League sets out the competition’s structure and the teams in each league and group, giving supporters a straightforward reference to follow future editions.
He applies the same lens to domestic football, detailing why EFL matches are postponed when players receive international call-ups and what that means for clubs and supporters. When covering the NFL London series, he lays out dates and venues so UK audiences can orient themselves within a global schedule that can otherwise feel distant.
Football reporting and live coverage
Alongside explainers, Colman contributes to live football coverage, providing rolling updates and context on key Premier League fixtures. In coverage of matches where West Ham’s in-form forward Summerville is ruled out against Manchester City, he folds squad news into wider implications for Champions League qualification places.
He brings a long-running interest in club football to this work, having previously written extensively on sides including West Ham, Portsmouth and Hull City. His social commentary on high-profile European fixtures, such as recent Bayern Munich versus Real Madrid meetings, keeps the tone conversational while underlining his attention to tactical shifts and entertainment value in elite matches.
He also tracks issues that disrupt the calendar, such as pitch problems that force postponement of games in Spain.
Cross-sport and international tournament coverage
Colman’s remit extends beyond football into other global sports, reflected in articles on the timing and structure of NFL London games. He engages with basketball’s expansion into Europe, including interviews with New York Knicks player OG Anunoby about the potential of a planned European league to elevate the sport’s profile in the UK. Within cricket, he works in a research-driven role that supports coverage of the game’s shifting formats and tournaments. His piece in Pidgin on the oldest players to feature at a World Cup translates tournament history into a concise list and shows his willingness to adapt style and language to different audiences. The World Cup feature on England fans’ adoption of Sweet Caroline and Wonderwall similarly connects global events, music and supporter culture, anchoring football coverage in the lived experience of match days.
Fan-led tone and ask-me-anything style
Across platforms, Colman frames his work around the questions fans most often ask, mirroring that structure in headline formulas that start with “why”, “how” and “when”. On social media he presents himself as an ask-me-anything journalist for BBC Sport, positioning his reporting as a direct line between supporters and the details that govern their teams and competitions. That stance carries through to his explainers, which favour short sections, clear answers and practical takeaways over opinion or commentary.
His background in club-focused writing and in co-founding player-oriented and quiz-based projects adds further evidence that he builds coverage around curiosity and participation as much as around results.
4 more sports journalists.
Aaron Bower
Aaron Bower stands out for covering rugby league through transfers, contracts and squad strategy. He is commissioning editor of Love Rugby League and leads its news and analysis output, while also working as a sports journalist for national outlets. His reporting spans Super League, the Championship, international rugby league and the NRL. He writes hard news, features and audio coverage, from club injuries and signings to long-form pieces on squad building, player contracts, club grading and father-son links. He also covers international selection, eligibility and the impact of NRL-Super League deals. His work treats club news, match context and off-field decisions as part of the same competitive story, and his editorial role places him at the centre of written, podcast and multimedia coverage.
Adam Becket
Adam Becket is a news editor and road racing specialist at Cycling Weekly, combining live race reporting, detailed stage analysis and regular opinion columns on elite men’s professional road cycling. He focuses on grand tours, general classification battles and shifting hierarchies in the peloton, tracking how results reshape team dynamics, rider reputations and future leadership. His reporting covers pivotal race moments, jersey contests and British riders and teams, linking daily outcomes to wider stories about WorldTour talent and development pathways. He also writes on cycling culture, technology and group-ride etiquette from a rider’s perspective, connecting elite competition with everyday riding. Becket previously wrote for Procycling, reported on ecclesiastical matters for an Anglican newspaper and covered politics at Business Insider, bringing institutional and governance insight to his coverage of teams, ethics and power at the top of the sport.
Adnan Riaz
Adnan Riaz is a senior football journalist whose distinct focus is forward-looking, tactical coverage of Manchester United, treating season outlooks and European campaigns as analytical projects in their own right. He works at United In Focus, centring on the club’s domestic and European runs, squad dynamics and supporter response. His beat is Manchester United under Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick, with detailed work on season previews, prediction-led pieces, Europa League and Champions League campaigns, match analysis and transfer stories. He reports through tactical systems, specific scorelines, stages and scenarios, and player-centric storytelling built around figures such as Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Matthijs de Ligt and Raphael Varane. His wider background spans fan-facing sports brands, gaming outlets, social-first content and syndicated sports and entertainment coverage.
Aidan Macdonald
Aidan Macdonald stands out for covering how football clubs are run and how supporters shape their future. He works on the sports desk at Clydebank Post, where he reports on club-level football, matches, signings, managers, academies, league campaigns and grassroots achievements. His work also covers governance, supporters’ trusts, ownership debates and the effect of club decisions on fans and communities. He has reported on Dumbarton Football Club’s supporters’ trust raising concerns about a takeover deal. Macdonald also contributes local leisure and business stories to Renfrewshire Gazette, including coverage of a restaurant reopening at a former popular eatery. His background includes work for specialist football outlets and wider news organisations. He writes short, timely reports in a direct, factual style, linking sport to governance, business and everyday community life.