Challenges Faced by Non-Native Speakers of English Understanding the Metaphors, Similes and Idioms in English Football Commentary

While idioms are relatively low in usage, football commentators largely use both similes and metaphors in football commentaries.English commentators' use of similes and metaphors distinguish World Cup, English Premier League (EPL) and Union of European Football Association (UEFA) from others in live football commentaries.Hence, the current study aims to explore how metaphors and similes complement English football commentaries and evaluate the extent of similes and metaphors expected to describe football events.The study investigates the lively impact and descriptive power of similes, metaphors and idioms in European live football matches commentaries.The adopted approaches include that observations were made; interviews were conducted; and questionnaires were distributed among participants.The study underscores a significant use of similes and metaphors on one hand, and a rare introduction of idioms in English football commentaries on the other hand.The findings highlight examples of similes and metaphors utilized in the football commentaries.