'Genuine legend' football commentator dies

Edwin Overland covered Peterborough United for 40 years

Tributes have been paid to a commentator who covered football and speedway for more than 40 years.

Edwin Overland, who joined BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in 1982, died over the weekend.

He covered hundreds of Peterborough United matches during his career, including the play-off wins in 1992, 2000 and 2011.

Peter Swan, the sports editor at the station, described him as a "genuine legend".

Mr Overland trained as a teacher and spent 23 years as a deputy head teacher in a village near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.

While working in education, he started commentating on football matches for emerging video companies.

He also recorded speedway commentaries and sold the tapes to the public.

When BBC Radio Cambridgeshire was launched in 1982, he sent copies of his football commentaries to the station and became the voice of Cambridge United's matches.

Among the highlights of those days were FA Cup ties against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

Mr Overland covered both football and speedway for more than four decades

When the radio station's Peterborough United commentator left, Mr Overland moved over to cover the Posh, and left his teaching career behind.

He retired from football commentary in 2022 but continued with his speedway work covering King's Lynn Stars for BBC Radio Norfolk and Peterborough Panthers for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

Mr Swan said: "Edwin played a huge part in our sports coverage over several decades.

"To use football parlance, he was a genuine BBC Radio Cambridgeshire legend.

"He was an absolute joy to work with and will be missed hugely."

King's Lynn Stars said Mr Overland had "one of the most recognisable and authoritative voices in the sport"

King's Lynn Stars also paid tribute, with a spokesperson saying the speedway team was "deeply saddened" to hear of Mr Overland's death.

"Edwin had one of the most recognisable and authoritative voices in the sport, and he gave lengthy service to both the Stars and Peterborough - always maintaining 100% professionalism earning him full respect between supporters of both clubs," they said.

Writing on social media, the speedway author Martin Rogers said he produced "arguably the most polished and professional speedway commentaries in the market".

Forever Posh, the official supporters club of Peterborough United, described him as "the gentleman of sport".