Matt Cotton from East Devon provided commentaries of matches at St James’ Park for visually-impaired listeners when he was still at school between 2007 and 2010. He later worked for the Times and Sunday Times.

Educated at Sidmouth College, Matt would normally have been too young to become involved in the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s volunteers’ commentary scheme. But, having impressed those running the scheme, he was allowed to cover Exeter City whilst doing his GCSEs and A levels.

Eventually stepping aside to study sports journalism at Solent University, Matt continued his RNIB work commentating on Arsenal whilst contributing written pieces for Gunners Town and Sports Mole. Joining the Times on graduation, he also had a short spell as a sub-editor on the Sun before settling into a long-term association with the sports section of the Times and Sunday Times where he was variously a sub-editor and writer.    

Matt’s time covering Exeter City overlapped with that of Pete Odgers who became a tennis commentator with the BBC and Eurosport.