The 1966 World Cup final changed football coverage for ever, says the commentator

The memories are as vivid as if it were yesterday – Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick, Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet trophy, Nobby Stiles doing his celebratory jig. For those at Wembley stadium or the 32.3 million who watched on television, England’s 4-2 victory over West Germany to win the World Cup on this day 50 years ago was unforgettable.

It certainly was for me – I was a young commentator working for ITV during the World Cup finals in 1966. We all knew we were witnessing history that day, but I don’t think any of us truly realised the revolution occurring in how football was watched on television, or how 1966 was really the start of the billion-dollar industry it is today.

So much of what you saw during this year’s Euros tournament only appeared on our screens for the first time back in ’66 – the use of pundits, game summarisers alongside commentators and amazing technological developments such as action replays. And it was mainly down to the enlightened thinking of one man, Michael Peacock, then Controller of BBC1, to treat the World Cup as ‘event’ television and his decision to show as many live games as possible. Before then, you had only the FA Cup final and England against Scotland – but now football was everywhere.

The impetus given to the game by England winning was enormous, and, of course, it then meant that the World Cup in Mexico in 1970 was just as closely covered because England went there as defending champions. And no one envisaged just how much the players would become part of the world of entertainment – in 1966 they were just footballers.

Obviously we didn’t realise that 50 years on we’d still be waiting for another tournament win, just as we’d never have foreseen that today we’d be able to watch any game, anywhere in the world, from our front rooms. And not just any game, but every single piece of the action – sometimes several times over. Major games now have coverage by some 30 cameras compared to the BBC’s ten at the World Cup final (ITV had seven, and both channels’ coverage was in black and white).

One development I’m not too keen on, however, is the excessive amount of publicity given to the pundits. It’s as if the commentator, the person who always has to get it right first time, is relegated in status or just forgotten about. In this respect I think the BBC’s John Motson and I enjoyed the best of times for commentators – today’s generation deserve far more credit than they get. Bo66y – the story of England’s World Cup-winning captain – is available on DVD from £ 9.99. 1966: A Nation Remembers, tonight, 9pm, ITV.