Who is replacing Gary Lineker as presenter of Match of the Day?
Who is replacing Gary Lineker as presenter of Match of the Day?
The BBC has confirmed the new Match of the Day presenters who will take over from Gary Lineker at the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season
BBC Sport presenter Gary Lineker
(Image: Getty Images )
Gary Lineker is stepping down from his role as Match of the Day presenter after the curtain is drawn on the 2024/25 Premier League season on Sunday evening.
The BBC has announced the new line-up of presenters for the flagship football programme, introducing Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan, and Kelly Cates as the trio set to share hosting duties from the next season.
This marks the first time in the show's history that three hosts will rotate the role, succeeding Gary Lineker, who has been at the helm since 1999 but is stepping down after the current season.
The presenting team will split the responsibilities across the different shows, with Chapman leading Saturday's main programme, Logan taking Sunday's Match of the Day 2, and Cates covering MOTD: Champions League on Wednesdays.
As Chapman relayed his thoughts on the novel arrangement, he emphasised the collaborative spirit among the new hosts: "People might find this hard to believe but there's absolutely no competition between the three of us," he stated. "We'll do a mix of everything that works for us all as individuals, and all of us are really keen that it's fair."
He further acknowledged the broader team behind the scenes, adding "This isn't about the three of us, it's about the three of us plus our pundits, plus our editors, plus our analysts and stats people and production people and radio people and online."
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Logan shared insights into the new dynamic: "I think what's interesting is although we're sharing the role, we won't actually be working together on Match of the Day.
"It's really great to share it because we bring different experiences and different interests within the game. We bring different ways of broadcasting and that will mean our pundits are kept on their toes and share different kinds of analysis."
In addition, Cates, remaining a figure with Sky Sports, expressed her delight: "We are all friends and we've known each other for a long time and that's a really lovely part of it.
"Not only is it a great role just on its own but I'm sharing it with two people I really admire, respect and genuinely like. It's a great set-up."
Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC Sport Director, praised the new lineup: "I know viewers will love these three incredible broadcasters and journalists at the heart of our football coverage next season.
"They're brilliant at what they do and Match of the Day viewers can be sure they will be well looked after as the big football talking points are expertly analysed."
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During the announcement at the start of the year, he also paid tribute to Lineker's tenure at the show: "Gary has done a phenomenal job at Match of the Day for the last 26 years, he'll be missed greatly and we all still get to enjoy him on our screens across some of football's greatest tournaments.
"Outside of Match of the Day we've got some great new shows, voices and surprises lined up for the 2025/26 season across audio, video and digital and we look forward to sharing them with you all later in the year.
"It's a truly exciting time for BBC Sport's football coverage."
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