BBC World Service launches new podcast Amazing Sport Stories
Amazing Sport Stories is a new podcast that is different to those that are about champions, team news and millionaire superstars.
Launching from BBC World Service, the podcast is about courage, rulebreakers and expecting the unexpected. Think underdogs, myths and drama!
The tales, which will be told in mini-seasons and short stories, are for those not necessarily obsessed with sport or even sports fans.
The first mini-season will be presented by Canadian ice hockey legend, double Olympic gold medallist and broadcaster, Cassie Campbell-Pascall. It tells the story of a 12-year-old from Canada who just wanted to play ice hockey – with the boys.
When she was told she couldn’t, she turned from the ice rink to the court, transforming a sporting fight into a legal battle.
A later series will look into something strange and mysterious plaguing a Gaelic football team. Is it a curse? Then there’s the story of 14 black American football players who were kicked off their team in 1969 for planning a protest against racism at another university.
There are stories lined up from Zambia, Iran and the Himalayas and also some that delve into sports you may not even know exist.
Jon Manel, BBC World Service Podcast Commissioning Editor, says: “At the heart of every episode of this podcast is an amazing, unputdownable story. Some are about glorious achievements against all odds, others are about mystery and wonder and then there are heart-wrenching tales of hope turned to dust. With the BBC World Service’s global reach, these stories come from all over the world.”
Anna Doble, BBC World Service Sport Commissioning Editor says: “This is a sport podcast where we don’t care about score lines and fixtures, we care about the human instinct to try to be the best. These stories capture the emotion, struggle and sometimes plain craziness that those ambitions involve. I’m very excited about revealing these stories and I guarantee you’ll want to retell them to your friends.”
The first mini-season of Amazing Sport Stories is made by production company Mags Creative and starts on Monday 30 October, available on BBC Sounds and most podcast platforms. It will also air on BBC World Service.