Jamie Vardy Takes on New Role in German Football Broadcasting

Jamie Vardy has a new role in German football – and it has nothing to do with late runs in behind or smashing shots in off the post.

According to a report from The Athletic’s German football correspondent Seb Stafford-Bloor, the former Leicester City and England striker is now a live rights holder for the Bundesliga. His first assignment comes tonight, starting with Bayern Munich vs Stuttgart.

It is an eye-catching move. Vardy, one of the Premier League era’s most recognisable forwards, is stepping into a broadcasting space that has long been dominated by England’s top flight. He will front live coverage as part of the That's Football platform, hosted by Mark Goldbridge of The United Stand, bringing the Bundesliga into a landscape where Premier League content usually drowns out everything else.

This is not a random experiment from Germany’s top division. The deal sits alongside the existing arrangement with That's Football and fits neatly into the Bundesliga’s broader push to grow its presence in the UK and Ireland. By leaning on two high-profile English football figures – Vardy from the pitch, Goldbridge from the digital studio – the league is betting that familiar voices can pull new eyes towards its product.

The idea is simple: if British and Irish fans won’t go to the Bundesliga, the Bundesliga will come to them, wrapped in faces and personalities they already know.

Kevin Hatchard, one of the English-language commentators on the Bundesliga’s international feed, has already weighed in on Vardy’s new venture, offering his thoughts on the ex-striker hosting live watchalongs of matches.

For a league chasing a bigger slice of attention in a Premier League-obsessed market, Vardy swapping boots for a watchalong mic might be more than a novelty. It could be the start of a very different kind of race.