Chief Suo Chapele, SuperSport’s pidgin commentator at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, has become one of the most talked-about voices of the tournament, with her commentary style drawing comparisons and increasing confusion with popular comedian Real Warri Pikin.

The resemblance has reportedly been strong enough that even some of Real Warri Pikin’s close relatives have mistaken Chapele’s commentary for the comedian’s voice, forcing Real Warri Pikin (real name Anita Asuoha) to put out a video clarifying that it is not her on air.

Born Tracy Chapele-Ugo, the commentator is the 14th child in a family of 18 and grew up in Warri in the early 1990s and 2000s, in what she has described as a mix of waterside culture, big southern vibes and religious piety, in an interview with Bella Naija.

She revealed that her late parents, Chief Oletu and Mrs Helen Nneka Chapele, encouraged sports and reading as recreation for their children.

She attended Nana Primary School, DSC Model School 2, Airforce Secondary School, Our Ladies’ High School and Aladja Grammar School, before proceeding to the University of Benin and John Moore’s University.

Chapele said her interest in football dates back to childhood. She has also credited seeing Chisom Mbonu-Ezeoke anchor the 2010 World Cup while pregnant as the moment that convinced her sports presenting was possible for her.

Her break Into pidgin commentary, by her own account, was accidental. She told BellaNaija she interviewed for an English and pidgin presenting role at Brila FM in Lagos in November 2014, and, having never presented in pidgin before, simply flipped her English script into pidgin on the spot.

A separate interview with City People traced the same origin story slightly differently, quoting her as saying the pidgin queue at the audition was shorter than the English one, and that she “jumped into the pidgin one” because she needed a job around her son’s first birthday.

Within five months, she had built a solo pidgin sports show on the platform.

She has since become a fixture on SuperSport, covering the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, in addition to major tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, including a stint in Qatar in 2022.

During Euro 2024, she said Germany’s Ministry of Art and Culture invited her to have her pidgin commentary curated in a Berlin museum exhibition alongside commentary figures such as Peter Drury and Ernest Okonkwo.

In a 2023 Punch interview, Chapele —who holds the chieftaincy title Chief Chapele Ugo — spoke about her family background and an honour bestowed on her in Delta State.

She said the reigning Ovie of Udu Kingdom in Delta State transferred her late father’s title to her, making her the first woman in the kingdom to receive such a title, which traditionally passes from father to son.

She also ventured into acting in 2024, taking a role in the Inkblot-produced film “When Love Strikes” after its producer, Ifunanya Valerie, reached out to her on Instagram after seeing her sports commentary clips.

Beyond the World Cup buzz, Chapele has framed her work as part of a broader case for pidgin as a serious broadcast language.

She has said Nigerian pidgin sports commentary began internationally with Emeka Enyadike at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and that with over 25 million native pidgin speakers, more platforms are becoming open to featuring local-language coverage of sport and beyond. (The PUNCH)

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