BC Lions football games will be called in Punjabi on Metro Vancouver radio airwaves this CFL season, starting with the team’s season-opener Sunday (June 9) in Toronto.
Harpreet Pandher and Taqdeer Thindal are audio broadcast team members with Richmond-based Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600.
The duo called the CFL’s first-ever Punjabi radio broadcast July 29, 2023, when the Lions beat Edmonton 27-0 in the Alberta city.
“This Lions Punjabi broadcast will be a stepping stone for bridging Punjabis to the game of football and representing their home team,” Pandher and Thindal jointly stated.
“We expect a vast range of Punjabis to tune into the broadcasts and are also humbled to be a part of this historic moment and excited to promote this great game.”
Both born and raised in Metro Vancouver, the broadcasters have been part of Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi calls over the past decade.
Pandher’s first Lions memory was a 1986 game against Edmonton with his father, a proud fan and season-ticket holder. Thindal attended his first Lions game in 1999.
• RELATED: Surrey pubs to host BC Lions on Tap shows with ‘Moj’ as team returns to CKNW radio.
Thank you @SherEPunjab600 for hosting @CFL Commissioner @RandyAmbrosie and Executive Director of the Grey Cup Festival Riley Wiwchar this morning 🏆✨
We had lots of fun on the show!
Tickets for the #GreyCup go on sale at 2 p.m PT/5 p.m. ET 🎟️ https://t.co/SqD6sloO7R… pic.twitter.com/k0mQ7CNEYW
— The Grey Cup Festival (@GreyCupFestival) June 4, 2024
Last week the Lions also announced a return to the 980 CKNW radio airwaves for English-language game broadcasts this CFL season, with Bob “The Moj” Marjanovich and Giulio Caravatta calling the action.
Marjanovich, sports columnist with Black Press Media, will co-host the weekly BC Lions On Tap hour-long radio show, 10 p.m. Tuesdays at different pubs in Metro Vancouver, with co-hosts Matt Baker and Nik Kowalski.
On June 4 the show debuted at Boston Pizza’s Central City location (10153 King George Blvd., Surrey). Other pub sites in the first six weeks include Kennedy’s in North Delta on June 25 (11906 88 Ave.) and the Boston Pizza in Guildford on July 9 (15125 100 Ave.). Other sites are Hops Northwest Pub in New Westminster (June 11), BC Kitchen at Parq Vancouver (June 18) and Lougheed Village Bar Grill in Burnaby (July 2).
On Saturday, June 15, the Lions’ popular “Concert Kickoff” home-opener at BC Place Stadium will feature music by rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, with Calgary Stampeders in town. Events will start at 10:30 a.m. on Terry Fox Plaza with a Backyard Party presented by PlayNow Sports, expanding to a tailgate party where beverages will be sold for $5. Game tickets start at $15.
This fall, Vancouver will host the 111th Grey Cup championship game on Sunday, Nov. 17, with the 2024 Grey Cup Festival set to start on the afternoon of Nov. 11. Game tickets are sold on greycupfestival.ca.
