Gary Lineker to leave Match Of The Day but will host FA Cup coverage in 2025/26
He has hosted Match Of The Day programme since 1999.
Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker will step down as host of Match Of The Day at the end of the season, but will continue to present coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the BBC has confirmed.
The 63-year-old former England striker and the corporation have “agreed in principle a contract extension through to the 2026 World Cup”, the corporation said.
Lineker, who has hosted the football highlights programme since 1999, said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, says: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.
“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.
“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
His touted replacements include Mark Chapman, the regular Match Of The Day 2 presenter, as well as Football Focus host Alex Scott, and BBC sports coverage presenter Gabby Logan.
Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast while his The Rest Is Football podcast, which also features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will now be hosted on BBC Sounds.
There will be one episode per week of The Rest is Football on BBC Sounds from next month, the PA News Agency understands.
Lineker co-founded Goalhanger Podcasts, an independent podcast production company in 2019, and it also produces podcasts such as The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment.
The podcast sees the trio discuss the latest news from the world of football and stories from their careers, having started in August last year.
They are often joined by one-off special guests from the sport to discuss their careers, which have included Spanish World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas, former Manchester United player Eric Cantona, and former West Ham manager David Moyes.
The Rest Is Football is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon Music.
He will have presented Match Of The Day for more than a quarter of a century when he leaves in May 2025.
The sports star appeared relaxed on Tuesday morning at his home in London as he went out to walk his dog.
Last year, he was briefly suspended from hosting the programme after his tweet about the British government’s asylum policy sparked a row about the corporation’s presenters expressing political views on social media.
He has been the BBC’s highest paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years and was estimated to have earned £1.35 million in the year 2023/24, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.
The BBC said that future plans for Match Of The Day would be “announced in due course”.
