Greater Manchester football personalities to co-host new Football League fan show

Two Greater Manchester football personalities will host a brand new live Saturday show across BBC local radio from Good Friday.

Squad Goals is a programme devised by passionate fans wanting to take “an irreverent look at the English Football League” – with Sanny Rudravajhala and Joe Thompson in the presenters’ seats.

Sanny is a Bury superfan who presented BBC Sounds’ acclaimed podcast “Out of Our League” charting the phoenix club’s rise from the ashes as Bury AFC; whilst Joe represented several clubs in the GM region including Manchester United Academy, Bury and Rochdale.

The hosts will bring listeners the latest scores and updates whilst covering the week’s news – joined on air by guest fans every week.

Regulars will include familiar names in the football reporting world such as Pien Meulensteen and Natalie Pike, Bolton Wanderers fan Nieve Pegg, Bristol Rovers fan Lucy Ford and Lucy Olivia, who came through the BBC Local Radio Kick Off reporter scheme.

Chris Burns, Head of Audio and Digital for BBC England, said: “We wanted to seize an opportunity to re-imagine the sound of sport on Sounds for our BBC Local Radio listeners.

“If you want to take the BBC Sport Live text, inject it with characters, charisma, humour and a liberal sprinkling of cheekiness then this is the show for you; it’s an irreverent look at the English Football League made by the fans for the fans.”

The first live edition of Squad Goals will air on April 2 across local radio services and run for six weeks every Saturday.

The programme will be available on Listen Live, BBC Sounds, Smart Speaker and Freeview between 2:45pm and 5pm.