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Holmes has decades of experience broadcasting a wide range of sports as a commentator and presenter within Australia and around the globe, but she still has vivid memories of being brought into the SBS World Cup team.
“I got a phone call from Les Murray saying ‘we haven’t really met, but I’d like you to come along and have a chat, and maybe be part of our team for France ’98,” said Holmes. “I was like, ‘is this for real, or is this a crank call?'"
“Being a bit of a football outsider, I’d covered some football for the ABC, but I wasn’t part of the inner sanctum of yourself (Basheer), Les Murray, Johnny Warren, and in years to come Craig Foster. I think what SBS has done for the sport in this country has been phenomenal. You can’t give enough praise.”
Part of the hosting team for the 1998 and 2006 men’s World Cups, in addition to the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Holmes has unique memories from each, from the sometimes ad hoc style of the France World Cup, to the scenes in Germany, and finally to the shift in the football landscape with the 2019 World Cup.
France 1998 FIFA World Cup:
“I was in a car with Les Murray and Johnny Warren, two absolute legends, and Andy Harper and I were in the back," she recalled. "Les was taking us to go and watch Brazil at a training session.
“Les was talking a million miles an hour as he does, Johnny was reading a newspaper because he didn’t like the way Les drove, and he was trying not to see the road. Andy and I were nodding and commenting when necessary. Les was abusing people and cutting in on lanes in the road. We went straight past the training venue and I think we ended up in Austria!
“We were laughing in the back seat and trying not to, and here were these two legends trying not to catch each others’ eyes as it was all melting around us. We got to Brazil training with about ten minutes left in the session.”
Germany 2006 World Cup:
“My recollections of Germany was a lot of train travel between venues and getting three hours sleep a lot of nights," she said. "You absolutely love it during these big events, because you just want to keep doing the story. What happens on the pitch is a million stories, but there a thousand others when you pull that lens back from the pitch.
“You sensed this change in the spirit in Germany. You sensed there was a bit of nervousness in inviting the world back in, there had been so many negative stories associated with big events in Germany in the past. This was almost like them re-branding themselves and coming out afresh. You felt that change in the people as the tournament went on.
“Fan sites all over, couches filling up the centre of stadiums and big screens beaming in the coverage to other cities for people who couldn’t get there. That was remarkable.”
France 2019 World Cup:
“That World Cup was sensational for so many reasons, but I’ve got to give credit to SBS here because SBS has always been onboard with the Women's World Cup in a way that no other broadcaster has," she explained.
“SBS has not only built the brand of the Socceroos but also of the Matildas through being so committed through years of trial and tribulation. France ’19 was where the women’s game went to new levels, not just here in Australia, but around the world.
“The quality of the game, with new leagues expanding and getting more professional around the world, it just came to life and we saw people really buying in. This is what has taken the game to a new level and SBS has been there every step of the way.”
