Stan has today confirmed UK radio and television football presenter Max Rushden and former Socceroos captain and multi-Logie award-winning broadcast veteran Craig Foster will join its exclusive coverage of the UEFA Champions League, Conference League and Europa League.
Familiar to fans worldwide, Max Rushden will bring an incredible wealth of European football knowledge and experience from his various roles at the BBC and Sky Sports, and most recently his work at Talksport and as host of the Guardian’s Football Weekly, one of the biggest multi-award winning football podcasts in the world.
“I am thrilled to be joining Stan to host their exciting new UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League coverage. From the early stages of our discussions, it was clear we were very aligned on how football should be covered – in a relaxed, intelligent, and hopefully entertaining way. We’re putting together a brilliant team of experts in Australia and around Europe, and I can’t wait to arrive with my Aussie wife, get hotel quarantine out of the way, and get stuck in for our first group stage matches.”
With over eighteen years of experience covering football, Craig Foster is one of Australia’s most beloved sports presenters having covered some of the biggest football tournaments around the world including World Cups, UEFA Champions League and the Premier League. Away from football, Foster is equally known for being a global advocate for human rights and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to multiculturalism, human rights, refugee support organisations, and football earlier this year.
Craig Foster added:
“The UEFA Champions League is the benchmark football competition globally with the greatest players, tacticians, histories and club rivalries.
Since the mid-1950s, when Real Madrid made their name as 5x Champions of Europe, through the various iterations to Chelsea’s second triumph last year, it’s the competition every club wants to be in, and every fan wants to experience. I’m delighted to be able to bring the world’s finest football to Australian audiences with Stan – the new home of the UEFA Champions League.”
Max Rushden and Craig Foster will be introduced in Stan’s Super Cup coverage on Thursday and will appear in studio for the UEFA Champions League group stage, with matches commencing Wednesday 15 September. Stan is looking forward to revealing further talent announcements and broadcast details in the coming weeks.
Stan Acting Chief Executive Officer Martin Kugeler said:
“We are delighted to announce Max Rushden and Craig Foster as our first commentary team signings for Stan’s UEFA club football coverage. Max and Craig will bring incredible expertise, knowledge, and passion for the world’s best club football to our broadcast. We look forward to welcoming them both into our Stan Sport family.”
These matches will mark the start of a new era for football broadcasting in Australia with Stan recently announcing a multi-year partnership agreement with the Union of European Football Associations, securing exclusive broadcast rights to every match of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League and UEFA Youth League, alongside rights to the UEFA Super Cup, for the next three seasons – bringing the best players, the biggest clubs, and the most prestigious club football tournaments in the world exclusively to Stan Sport.
Stan Sport’s exclusive UEFA coverage will begin with the 2021-22 UEFA Super Cup match between 2020-21 UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea and Villarreal, winners of the UEFA Europa League – kicking off this Thursday 12 August from 4:50am AEST.
Stan’s add-on sport package is available for $10 a month and new customers can start their 7 day free trial now by visiting: Stan.com.au/sport
