Next season, for the first time since 1999, Match of the Day will have a new host.
Earlier this week, the BBC announced that Gary Lineker will leave the role at the conclusion of the current campaign, bringing to an end his 25-year stint as the face of the broadcaster’s flagship football show.
Starting in 1964, Match of the Day has been the place for Premier League football highlights, with the BBC also gaining rights for the Football League, FA Cup and European football over the years.
“We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport.
Greg Dyke, former BBC director general, told BBC Radio 4 that Lineker was “the outstanding sports presenter of his time”, but that “life moves on”.
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So what now? Who will replace Lineker as host of Match of the Day after so long at the helm? Can anyone do the job? Does this mean we won’t ever get to see anyone present in just their pants again?
Here, FootballFanCast outlines the top candidates to replace the legendary host.
1 Mark Chapman
Mark Chapman is, unsurprisingly, the favourite to replace Lineker.
The 51-year-old has hosted Match Of The Day 2 for more than a decade and has also filled in for Lineker on the main show when he’s been unavailable on numerous occasions, including when the former England striker was briefly suspended by BBC bosses over his social media activity last year.
As a familiar face with plenty of experience, Chapman is the logical choice.
2 Alex Scott
Alex Scott has been a leading light for female pundits since retiring from professional football in 2017.
In 2018, she became the first female analyst to cover the men’s World Cup on the BBC, while in the same year, she also became Sky Sports’ first-ever female football pundit.
Now the host of Football Focus, she has also stood in for Lineker on Match of the Day.
3 Gabby Logan
Already one of the BBC’s best-known sports presenters, Gabby Logan first joined the broadcaster in 2007, having also worked for ITV.
Since then, she’s presented at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Invictus Games, the World Cup, the European Championship, and has also occasionally filled in for Lineker. This season, she has fronted Amazon Prime’s Premier League and Champions League coverage.
In 2020, she was awarded an MBE for services to sports broadcasting and promoting women in sport.
4 Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer has been Lineker’s right-hand man on the Match of the Day for years.
Though he has no experience as the main presenter, the former England international could be a good choice for the BBC if they are looking to keep things familiar.
It would also be a strange turn of fate given that Shearer replaced Lineker as England’s first-choice striker when he retired in 1994.
5 Micah Richards
Since retiring from football in 2019, Micah Richards, or as he calls himself, “Big Meeks”, has quickly established himself as one of the most likeable football pundits around.
He’s been a mainstay on Match of the Day alongside Lineker and Shearer, while he’s also worked alongside Kate Scott, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher on CBS Sports.
Lineker has previously admitted that he would “love” to see Richards replace him as host of Match of the Day.
“I think you’d be brilliant in the chair,” Lineker told Richards during an episode of The Rest is Football podcast earlier this year.
6 Kate Scott
Kate Scott, formerly Kate Abdo, has earned critical acclaim for her work with CBS Sports since 2020, where she has anchored the network’s coverage of the Champions League alongside Richards, Carragher, and Henry.
The 43-year-old, who previously presented sports on Sky, Fox and CNN, would be a great replacement for Lineker, but could be out of reach for the BBC given that last year she signed a new, four-year exclusive contract with CBS.
7 Kelly Cates
The daughter of the former Liverpool player and manager Sir Kenny Dalglish, Kelly Cates is a highly experienced presenter who has worked for a number of well-known broadcasters, including ESPN, Setanta Sports, and Channel 5.
Her most notable work, however, has been with Sky Sports. She left the channel in 2006 but returned in 2016, and now covers the Premier League’s biggest games alongside the likes of Roy Keane, Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville in the studio.
8 Jason Mohammad
Welsh broadcaster Jason Mohammad is the current host of BBC show Final Score.
Since joining the BBC in 1997, he has also deputised for Lineker and Chapman on Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2. He would be an experienced figure in front of the camera, though you would imagine he will stick to stand-in appearances.
9 Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin has been a regular feature on the BBC’s sports coverage since retiring from football in 2008, appearing on Match of the Day, Football Focus, Final Score, BBC Radio 5 Live and more.
The former Coventry City and Manchester United striker has plenty of experience presenting outside the world of sports, too.
Since 2015, he’s hosted property show Homes Under the Hammer alongside Martin Roberts and Lucy Alexander, where he’s made a name for himself for regularly letting viewers know exactly where stairs lead to.
10 Jeff Stelling
Famed for his iconic voice, memorable catchphrases, razor-sharp wit and silly sense of humour, Jeff Stelling is one of British football’s most famous broadcasters.
Having presented Gillette Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports from 1994 until 2023, Stelling now works for TalkSport, where he hosts the channel’s breakfast show alongside Ally McCoist.
His appointment would no doubt be a popular one. However, he likely wouldn’t come cheap, though he would almost certainly maintain the show’s prestige by replacing Lineker on Saturday nights.