This article is part of The Athletic’s series celebrating UK Black History Month.
You can find the full series here.
Seb Hutchinson is one of the United Kingdom’s rising TV football commentators — but it has not been an overnight success story.
“In Qatar, someone said, ‘Seb is at his first World Cup’. They didn’t mean it in a bad way but my response was, ‘Well it’s not actually — this is my fourth’.”
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Hutchinson is now a commentator for ITV, the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster after the BBC, and worked for them across the most recent men’s World Cup finals and was lead commentator for the women’s World Cup. The 39-year-old is also part of Sky Sports’ stable of commentators covering the Premier League, EFL and Women’s Super League.
But there have been risky decisions along the way as he has walked a long road to achieve his dream — something he has been telling friends and family he has wanted to pursue since he was 10 years old.
“I was a producer for ITV,” he tells The Athletic while sitting in his office. “Then I said, ‘I need to focus on my commentary.’ It was always ticking away at the back of my mind. Being a producer was great, but I needed to follow my childhood dream.
“I went freelance; which was a massive risk, but I was young, had no responsibility, so I was able to do it. Some people felt I was making a silly decision but I didn’t feel that way. I was confident in my ability to get work.”
"WHAT A WAY TO ANNOUNCE YOURSELF TO THE CITY GROUND CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI" ☄️ pic.twitter.com/MSXVLEvJur
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 18, 2023
Hutchinson, from east London, had already shown the capacity to work hard to break into the industry. He worked at a pet shop, for the Sports Direct retail chain and as a security guard before pursuing commentary.
“Whenever I’d ask careers people at school about becoming a sports commentator, they’d have no idea,” he says. “So I knew somehow I’d have to get my name out there.
“My dad, Ray, was involved in football. He played for Leyton Orient’s academy with Laurie Cunningham. But my dad struggled with injuries and transitioned into coaching. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and be involved in football.
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“When my parents split up, that pushed me even more. I did a sports journalism course at Staffordshire University and that helped me get closer to the industry. From that, I sent out 20 letters asking people for a job, but only three got back to me — a club TV channel, ITV and BBC Sport regional.”
Hutchinson on Sky Sports (Screengrab)That lack of response fuelled Hutchinson and gave him a new mantra.
“The people who rejected me would often say, ‘We don’t have this position available’,” he says. “You could look at that in two ways: one, they’re lying to me, or they actually don’t have that position available. But I started to adopt the mindset that they’re just not ready for me.”
He also takes inspiration from the people he covers: “I love sport, and one of my favourite moments is watching (British sprinter) Linford Christie win (100m) gold at the 1992 Olympics. It was so inspiring and it gave me belief that I can also achieve big things.
“I remember watching the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno fight (in 1989). It was the first time I really paid attention to commentary. The commentator was Harry Carpenter for radio. He added something on top of the event.
“People often say commentary isn’t important, but if you think about a good film or a good song, it’s enhanced by the vocals and what you’re hearing. As a commentator, I’ve always felt my responsibility was to add excitement to the game. Even at school, I’d go around commentating things in my head.”
When working on football matches, Hutchinson gets to stadiums three hours before kick-off. In the build-up to a matchday, he makes notes on an iPad which he refers to during commentary. Besides preparing for games, there are other aspects of the job Hutchinson is keen to get right.
“Voice is the one of most important things,” he says. “My style might not be for everyone but the way I look at it is, it’s not about accent, it’s about delivery. When my family and close friends heard me on TV for the first time, they said, ‘I knew you’d do it’. I looked up to (long-time UK commentator) Brian Moore, because he kept it simple but had emotion in his voice. That’s how I try to be.
Hutchinson commentated on McTominay’s recent late double for United (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)“The last game I did was Manchester United against Brentford. You’re coming towards the end of a game like that and you have to think about the bigger picture. Scott McTominay scoring twice would’ve felt big for Manchester United. People talk about ‘Fergie Time’ but that day was (when United honoured) the passing of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wife, so I thought, ‘It’s not the right moment to talk about Sir Alex.’ You have to be sensitive to certain things.”
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There isn’t much time or head space for Hutchinson to think when these incidents come up — not that the viewer at home will know. “Sometimes I could have up to five voices in my ear talking (from the broadcast production team) as I’m talking, plus your co-commentator, and then bits of VAR.
“When Manchester United faced Wolves (in August), I thought the (United) goalkeeper Andre Onana gave away a penalty. VAR were checking it and I was preparing myself to say it’s been given as a penalty. Then all I hear is, ‘Check complete’, and inside, I was like, ‘What?’. I’m calming myself, so I can explain it to the audience. That’s part of the job that people never appreciate.”
Hutchinson might be one of few Black sports commentators in the United Kingdom but he was never trying to be a trailblazer.
“I never looked at it as trying to be the first Black commentator,” he says. “I look at the England team and the players in the Premier League and a good majority are Black. My mind goes back to university days, when there were hardly any Black people, but I felt comfortable and I didn’t feel out of place.
“I guess my mindset comes from my parents, because they always made me believe in myself. They didn’t stop me from pursuing my dreams.”
(Top photo: Roshane Thomas/The Athletic)
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