ICONS is a ten-episode series launching today, 4 December, voiced by Martin Tyler and produced by GOAL.
Exploring iconic moments from the past ten men’s FIFA World Cups dating back to Mexico 1986, each tournament is revisited through a single defining story.
These range from Ronaldo Nazário’s unforgettable 2002 haircut to the controversial Adidas Jabulani ball from 2010, alongside the remarkable tale of Argentina’s bootleg shirts at the 1986 World Cup.
The podcast forms part of a wider audio project celebrating World Cup history from multiple cultural perspectives.
Tyler’s involvement brings instant authority, having commentated on twelve World Cups since Argentina 1978.
ICONS is designed to appeal both to long time football fans and to a new generation discovering the sport’s biggest moments through sound.
Martin Tyler said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to have commentated on twelve World Cups, dating back to Argentina 78, so I know only too well how the World Cup can create icons and stories like nothing else in football.
“I’m excited to be working with GOAL to bring these stories to life, some of which I wasn’t even aware of.”
The launch of ICONS will be followed on 16 December by a second series, LEGACY, which expands the project into a 26-episode deep dive into national football identities and long-running World Cup narratives.
“This series will run up to the start of the 2026 World Cup and examines football dynasties including England, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Morocco, and Uruguay.
Topics range from Spain’s history of producing wonderkid talents to Italy’s recent struggles on the international stage, alongside a look back at the 2002 tournament that reshaped perceptions of the American national team.
Across both series, a total of thirty-six episodes will be released and also published as feature stories on GOAL. Each episode has been researched and written by GOAL’s global network of journalists working in ten different languages, giving the project a distinctly international voice.
Both ICONS and LEGACY will be available in eight languages. Tyler narrates ICONS in English, while actor and narrator Tom Watt fronts the English versions of LEGACY.
Localised versions will be released in Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and French.
Footballco EVP James Lamon said the project mixes traditional storytelling with new technology to reach wider audiences, adding that AI voice and translation tools allow GOAL to make its journalism accessible across multiple markets without losing emotional impact.
Both series will pause after the 2026 World Cup in July next year, before returning to explore football icons and legacies from other tournaments, leagues, and competitions around the world.
