Premier League Juniors put the next generation centre stage as Sky Sports broadcast a live Brentford v Liverpool game with kids replacing the usual commentators, pundits and reporters. Presenter Kelly Cates and lead commentator Seb Hutchinson were joined pitchside and on the gantry by football fans Aman (12), Delilah (12), Naveed (11) and Rishi (11) for build up, match and post-match coverage. The kids interviewed Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Frank, Virgil Van Dijk and Bryan Mbeumo (among others) and commentated live on a match that had goals galore.

The broadcast had its own eye-catching creative, with a bespoke title sequence and graphics filled with neon colours and football doodles plus family-friendly quiz questions (like “How many teams are in the Premier League?”) and explainers (“So what exactly is VAR anyway?).   To reach as wide an audience as possible, the show aired live on Sky Sports Premier League, as well as Sky Showcase and Sky Sports Mix which are both available to the whole Sky base. The buildup also aired live on YouTube.

Our kids were from local schools – they had no previous TV experience and some had never been to a live football game before. They threw themselves into the experience: writing their own questions and ad libbing in commentary under Kelly and Seb’s expert guidance. The interviews brought out a new side in the players and managers and the joy the kids got from being in the stadium and so close to their heroes was infectious. Klopp asking Aman about their shared experience of coming to Liverpool as “outsiders” was a really special moment and Delilah now wants to be a commentator!  We’ve heard the phrase “If you can see it, you can be it”, and we hope Premier League Juniors will inspire the next generation of onscreen sports talent.