Jacqui Oatley will on Saturday become the first woman to commentate for Match of the Day.

She is due to break 43 years of the flagship show's history for the match between Fulham and Blackburn.

But Oatley, currently a sports reporter for BBC Radio Five Live, said she was not interested in changing anything. "I'm not breaking barriers for women," she commented. "I do it for the same reason as any bloke: I love my football."

Roger Mosey, the BBC's head of sport, has rejected suggestions Oatley got the job because she was a woman. He said: "Jacqui was selected on merit in exactly the same way as all our other commentators. We want to reflect the nation and it's daft that we've had so few women commentators."

The journalist said commentating had been a dream since her sporting career was ended by a knee injury at 27: "After hearing I could no longer play, I decided to do the next best thing and report on it."