Sounders FC returns to KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, expands radio offerings

KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and MyNorthwest.com are again your home for Seattle Sounders FC matches and programming.

KIRO Radio 97.3 FM will carry all home and away matches throughout 2015. KIRO Radio will also air pre- and post-match shows surrounding all Sounders FC contests. The games will also be streamed live on MyNorthwest.com, KIRORadio.com and via the KIRO Radio app.

Additionally, a 60-minute Sounders FC-focused show on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM will air at 9:00 p.m. PST every Thursday evening throughout the season during the Jason Rantz Show.

Complete Sounders FC news on MyNorthwest.com

“Sounders FC is becoming one of those things that makes Seattle what it is, like mountains, water, coffee and jet airplanes,” said Carl Gardner, Vice President and Market Manager, Bonneville Seattle Media Group. “KIRO Radio loves to offer the match broadcasts, because they are unlike anything else you’ll hear on the radio. Scarves up!”

Added Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer, “Our relationship with the Bonneville Radio Group goes back to our inaugural 2009 season and we couldn’t be happier to continue hearing Sounders FC soccer over their airwaves.”

Returning to the broadcast booth for a fourth consecutive season to call Sounders FC’s regional matches is the duo of Ross Fletcher and Kasey Keller. The Voice of Sounders FC, Fletcher serves as play-by-play commentator for the club’s English-language simulcasts, bringing more than a decade of soccer broadcast experience to Sounders FC matches. Prior to his time in Seattle, Fletcher served as a football commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Sports Extra, covering the Barclays Premier League and English Football Championship, in addition to a seven-year run as the voice of Derby County for BBC Radio Derby.

Following a decorated 20-year playing career across the highest levels of European Football and three successful campaigns with Sounders FC from 2009-11, Keller reprises his role as Broadcast Analyst alongside Fletcher. Keller capped his playing career with the 2011 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award while also earning MLS Best XI honors, serving as Sounders FC captain and earning an All-Star selection in each of his three MLS seasons. From 1991 to 2008, the Olympia native played in Europe while accumulating U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeping records for most caps (102), wins (53) and shutouts (47). Keller played in three of the world’s strongest topflight leagues throughout his career: England’s Premiership, Spain’s La Liga and the German Bundesliga.

Joining Fletcher and Keller on Sounders FC broadcast team is veteran reporter Jackie Montgomery, who enters her third full season covering the club. Montgomery will contribute commentary during pre and post-match coverage, in addition to hosting the halftime show. She is joined by a rotating panel of analysts during those segments, including former Sounder Taylor Graham and current Seattle University Head Coach Pete Fewing.

Additionally, recently retired Sounders Steve Zakuani and Marcus Hahnemann are joining the broadcast staff alongside Graham and Fewing as rotating analysts. Zakuani was Seattle’s first overall selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, and he went on to record 17 goals and 17 assist in 97 appearances before retiring following the 2014 campaign. He set career highs with 10 goals and six assists in 2010, then was off to a hot start in 2011 before suffering a devastating double-leg break in an April match against the Colorado Rapids. Zakuani then endured a long road to recovery, finally making his way back to the lineup almost a year-and-a-half later. His journey back to the pitch is chronicled in his book, 500 Days, which was released earlier this week.

Hahnemann joins the Sounders FC broadcast crew after retiring last season following 21 years as a professional goalkeeper. He began and finished his illustrious career in his hometown of Seattle, spending three seasons with the A-League Sounders from 1994-96 and a little more than two seasons with Sounders FC from 2012-14. Prior to re-joining MLS, the Seattle native spent 13 years and made over 300 appearances in English football for Fulham, Reading, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton. He spent the majority of that time with Reading, where he became a mainstay for the Royals, making over 250 appearances from 2002-09 and helping the club gain promotion to the Premiership in 2005-06. Hahnemann also earned nine caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team and was a member of the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup teams.