Downsy wearing a white t-shirt with Bristol City written on it, with skyscrapers on the horizon behind him

Football / World Cup

Ashton Gate stadium announcer Downsy swaps Dolman for Doha

By Martin Booth  Monday Nov 21, 2022

If you’ve been to a Bristol City or Bristol Bears match at Ashton Gate in the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed the absence of Ian Downs.

That’s because the matchday presenter for both football and rugby matches in BS3 has been talent-spotted by FIFA to be a stadium DJ at the World Cup in Qatar, with his first job on Monday for the USA versus Wales.

The first job for Downsy – as he is better known – is on Monday at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, a 40,000-capacity venue said to be “inspired by the rolling desert sand dunes”.

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Downsy has been documenting his time in Qatar on his social media channels.

While not working at Ashton Gate, Downsy works at ITV West Country. He was formerly a presenter on Sam FM and also previously co-presented Bristol24/7’s Behind the Headlines podcast.

Main photo: Ian Downs

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