Tributes paid as 'Voice of Leicester City' dies

Tributes have been paid to a former BBC football commentator dubbed the "voice of Leicester City" following his death at the age of 85.

Neville Foulger, a respected journalist for over half a century, was synonymous with a glory period for the Foxes in the late 1990s through to his retirement in 2004.

Among those paying tribute was Geoff Peters, now at TalkSport, who was his colleague and friend for many years at BBC Radio Leicester.

He said: "He's been a constant throughout my life... he was a real father figure."

Mr Foulger, who lived in Barrow upon Soar, also had spells working in Nottingham, Birmingham and Coventry during his career in journalism.

His final game working for the Coventry Telegraph was Coventry City's famous 3-2 FA Cup triumph in 1987 before he moved to Leicester to run a press agency.

He then went on to report and commentate on football and cricket at BBC Radio Leicester for many years until he retired.

Mr Peters recalled how he was employed by Mr Foulger at his news agency when he was 16 and went on to work with him at BBC Radio Leicester in the mid-1990s.

They were reunited again in the press box during Leicester City's fairytale Premier League title-winning run in 2016.

He added he was moved by the many tributes on social media from those who listened intently to games over the years.

"As a boss he was hard but fair... I owe him lots. Today is a sad day," he said.

"I learned so much from him, he was a brilliant journalist. He was a very giving, kind, caring person.

"He was a wonderful family man - I saw him earlier this year and he really sparkled when he was talking about his family.

"My heart is full of so much love that I could spend so much time with him over the years and learn from him."

In a statement, Leicester City said: "We are all saddened to hear of the passing of much-loved journalist, Neville Foulger.

"Covering countless City games, Nev commentated on some of the club’s greatest moments across several decades.

"Nev was known by many generations as the voice of Leicester City, and will be sadly missed by all who knew him."

He is survived by his wife Fran, children David and Anne, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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