Oisín Coyne knew he wanted to be a soccer announcer from an early age, drawn to it by the voices of Martin Tyler and Peter Drury, and the power a broadcaster wields while attempting to capture not only what happens on the field, but the emotions and significance that surround the action.
"I was fascinated by commentary for as long as I can remember. You could be watching the same game, but the person behind the microphone could make you understand and feel the moment differently. That's what made me want to do it," Coyne said.
The native of Kildare, Ireland, worked for years in his homeland to gain experience and work his way up the sports media food chain. He started out in local and regional media in Ireland, learned the industry through reporting, presenting, and doing production and commentary.
He picked up bigger and bigger opportunities, covering the League of Ireland, the country's top soccer competition, doing international radio work, and eventually breaking through with RTÉ Sport, Ireland's national public service broadcaster.
Coyne contributed to coverage of the UEFA European Championship in 2024, got to experience a UEFA Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen as RTÉ's lead reporter, and anchored live radio coverage when the Republic of Ireland played Greece at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in the UEFA Nations League.
He rose through the ranks and established himself solidly in Irish broadcasting, but his next move was a surprising one: To leave it all behind for a brand new start chasing his soccer broadcasting dream in a much different market, New York.
Now, Coyne travels across the region's soccer landscape and covers games of all levels, from MLS and NWSL to UPSL and other parts of the local lower-league scene, continuing to provide match commentary, but also trying to capture more than just the on-field action.
"I love interviewing players and coaches and I love being behind the microphone for a game, but some of my favorite stories have come from just speaking with supporters," Coyne said.
"You can meet someone who has travelled thousands of miles for a match or someone who has built a whole community in New York around supporting a club from another country. That's what makes soccer in this city different. The whole world is represented here."
Why New York?
To Coyne, a move to New York meant coming to one of the most interesting places to be, as soccer grows rapidly throughout the United States, and as New York is a central market in the sport's growth. With the 2026 World Cup taking over the city while games were played across the river in New Jersey, and the steady growth experienced locally by the area's MLS and NWSL teams, New York checked the boxes for Coyne as he looked to break out of his comfort zone.
"I wanted to challenge myself. I had built a really good foundation in Ireland, but I didn't want to become too comfortable," Coyne said. "There's so much happening in American soccer, and New York puts you right in the middle of it. You have MLS, the NWSL, lower-league and grassroots soccer, and supporters from virtually every football culture in the world. It felt like the right place to come and try to build something."
Now here in New York, Coyne is still doing live commentary for sports streaming platform New Logical Sports. He's also doing reports from matches, interviewing players and coaches, hosting podcasts, producing digital coverage, work that has brought him to the matches of New York City FC and Gotham FC — but also to Lansdowne Yonkers FC and other lower-league teams in the area.
"There's a soccer culture being built here. MLS, the NWSL, grassroots clubs and the people following them are creating their own traditions. As a journalist, getting the chance to document some of that growth is really exciting," Coyne said.
Coverage through an international lens
Coyne's soccer experience was shaped by his travels across Europe, both while working professionally as a journalist in Ireland, and while growing up attending matches in different parts of the continent.
His travels took him to Italy to see Parma when they had goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon during the Italian great's final season; to Croatia to watch HNK Hajduk Split play Unai Emery's Villarreal on a European night; to Germany to watch FC Köln fight their way back into the Bundesliga; to Spain to see FC Barcelona navigate its post-Lionel Messi era; and, elsewhere in Spain, to be inside the Santiago Bernabéu for a Real Madrid clash with Valencia.
"Going to games in different countries definitely changed the way I looked at football," he said. "You start noticing how supporters behave differently, how clubs represent their cities and how every country has its own football culture. The game is universal, but the way people experience it isn't."
One of the things Coyne still does while reporting on soccer here in New York is find ways to connect his old world in Ireland to his new one in the United States. That effort has been buoyed by two local soccer developments: Kevin O'Toole of New York City FC receiving a national team call-up from the Republic of Ireland, and Gotham FC signing celebrated Irish midfielder Denise O'Sullivan.
Coyne has spoken to Pascal Jansen about O'Toole's progress, and has spoken directly to O'Toole about his development and international ambitions, while Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós praised O'Sullivan to Coyne, calling her "one of the most underrated players in world football."
His ability to tell stories that resonate in New York and abroad helps Coyne unlock new audiences and deepen his connection to soccer, both here in New York and back home in Ireland. It's an asset that Coyne sees as valuable as international lines blur and as coverage of the sport gets more and more universal, even while retaining a local focus.
"I think coming here with an Irish perspective gives me something different. I know Irish football and I know the players and stories people at home are interested in, but I'm now seeing them within American soccer, and there's a growing connection between the two," Coyne said.
Being in New York has also let Coyne tap into other areas of soccer coverage, namely the culture around the game, its teams, and its many, many local fans. He's gotten to see firsthand how local immigrant communities gather to watch their national teams or their top local club teams, maintaining their connections to home while in New York. He's also seen the impact local clubs can have in their communities, and how global events like the World Cup can turn any neighborhood spot into a hub of activity for fans.
The stories of the humans who make soccer what it is in New York are compelling ones for Coyne. "New York is one of the few places where you can experience so many different football cultures at once," he said.
The commentary dream persists
Coyne's coverage and his roles in soccer media have evolved, and his base of operation has changed drastically with his arrival in the United States, but he remains focused on his dream, to be established as a soccer announcer.
"It's still the dream. I want to commentate on the biggest games and continue developing as a broadcaster. That's what I wanted to do when I was a kid and it hasn't changed," says Coyne.
Since making the move, he's gotten experience covering myriad local soccer competitions, and with New Logical Sports, he gets opportunities to call Gaelic Athletic Association competitions like hurling and Gaelic football while they're played locally in New York.
The seasoned, well-traveled Irish broadcaster now focuses on trying to take his audience a step or two beyond what happens on a playing field, a valuable extra role Coyne can play as he applies his international knowledge locally.
"I've learned that broadcasting isn't only about describing what's happening. It's about understanding the people watching, the communities around the clubs, and why a game means something to them," Coyne said.
"I started out wanting to tell football stories in Ireland. Now I'm getting the opportunity to tell soccer stories in New York. For me, that's the exciting part. I'm still chasing the same dream, just from a different side of the Atlantic."
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