This is Unsung. Introducing the sports stars you don’t know, telling the stories you can’t miss. 

As the final whistle blows on 2024, we’re back with a review of the sporting year. As you might expect by now, we’ll be taking an alternative look through the calendar and picking out its lesser-lauded legends. 

We’ve got pioneers, innovators, outsiders, and entertainers, many transforming sport and making their mark away from the mainstream glare.

So, like a middle-aged bespectacled Turkish sharpshooter, let’s fire the opening shot on 2024: The Unsung Year in Review.

For the second year running, the Unsung podcast has been nominated as a finalist in the Sports Podcast Awards. This time around, we’re shortlisted in two categories: Best Sports Documentary Podcast and Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast. 

We’d love your vote! You can do so in the links below:

Best Sports Documentary Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-sports-documentary-podcast

Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-olympics-and-paralympics-podcast

Quotes:

“We worked on the England shirt that had the multicoloured crosses on it that was to represent diversity in modern England. Peter Saville said at the time, if I design something and show it to a hundred people, I'd rather 50 people love it and 50 people hate it than a hundred people think it's okay. Because nobody ever bought anything because it was okay.”

Rob Warner

“I hope that because I've done this and I've gone through the EFL and the Championship and the Premier League, in five- or 10-years’ time, we'll have numerous women and girls [refereeing] in these leagues, and it won't even be talked about. It'll just be the norm.”

Rebecca Welch

“Flying Disc and Ultimate are absolutely brilliantly designed for the Olympic Games. You know, we have gender equality, our co-ed mixed division, which we feature at the World Games really works well. It's a legitimate division. It's not something we're making up to try to satisfy an expectation. It's interesting to youth, youth like to play it. And then you talk about the spirit of the game. I mean, if you go back to the founder of the Olympics, his idea was of sportsmanship, of respect, of cessation of hostilities. We believe our sport brings all of this to the table and has something to offer.”

Robert ‘Nob’ Rauch

“Life doesn't end there. I think that's the most important thing. I think it's so scary to look too far ahead, but I think you just have to take every day at a time and see how it goes. You're going to have some really good days and you're going to have some really bad days and if you have a really bad day just think, well, tomorrow is going to be different. And if it's not the day after is going to be different. But don't stop doing what you love doing and just try to keep living and make the most of whatever you've got and make every day count”

Nils Amelinckx

Explore more

Vote for Unsung in the 2025 Sports Podcast Awards:

Best Sports Documentary Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-sports-documentary-podcast

Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-olympics-and-paralympics-podcast

Amazing Sports Stories: The Business of Losing, BBC World Service:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j7x5l2

Rider Resilience documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM9Oa6108kI

Buy the book

Unsung: Not All Heroes Wear Kits, by Alexis James

http://www.unsungbook.com

More from Off-Field

Unsung is an Off-Field production, bringing you the untold and unsung in audio, digital, and 

print. To enjoy more of our storytelling head to www.off-field.net

Episode credits

Writing & Narration: Alexis James

Producer: Matt Cheney

Artwork: Matt Walker

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports Podcast Awards

For the second year running, the Unsung podcast has been nominated as a finalist in the Sports Podcast Awards. This time around, we’re shortlisted in two categories: Best Sports Documentary Podcast and Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast. We’d love your vote! You can do so in the links below: Best Sports Documentary Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-sports-documentary-podcast Best Olympics and Paralympics Podcast: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-olympics-and-paralympics-podcast