Joaquim Maria Puyal marks 50 years of Catalan football broadcasting

Fifty years ago, journalist Joaquim Maria Puyal conducted the first radio broadcast of a football match entirely in Catalan following the end of the Franco dictatorship. The historic broadcast, aired on Ràdio Barcelona, featured a match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas.

Puyal is credited with the monumental task of building a specialized sports lexicon in Catalan. Working with linguist Jordi Mir, he helped establish a unique vocabulary and idiomatic expressions that integrated the language into the daily lives of the population. His work helped normalize the use of Catalan in public media and served as a tool for linguistic recovery and collective identity.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Puyal became a legendary figure in sports journalism, known for iconic narrations such as the viral ‘Encara Messi’ commentary. His legacy includes the creation of a specific journalistic style and the establishment of linguistic standards that continue to influence Catalan sports broadcasting today.