Gary Lineker's Match of the Day replacements confirm another major change for new season

A new hosting team isn't the only change to BBC flagship football show Match of the Day this season. The broadcaster is also rebranding the Sunday show previously known as Match of the Day 2, dropping the '2' to leave it on equal footing with the Saturday night episodes.

Gary Lineker hosted Match of the Day for the last time on the final day of the 2024-25 season. He has been replaced by a rotating team of three anchors - Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan - who will share presenting duties.

“Why is it [the Saturday show] the top job?” Chapman asked in a Radio Times interview. “I’m intrigued, really, because I’ve never viewed Saturdays and Sundays as any different.”

Logan agreed, saying: “In many weeks, Match of the Day 2 has been a stronger line-up. Match of the Day is Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays [for Champions League highlights].

"It’s not Match of the Day 1, Match of the Day 2, it’s just Match of the Day. That will be the most noticeable change, apart from not having Gary involved.”

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Logan and Chapman have both covered football for the BBC in recent seasons, while Cates anchored live coverage on Sky Sports. The trio's arrival comes with the BBC also rebranding its Champions League highlights show as 'Match of the Day: Champions League' to bring Saturday, Sunday and midweek shows under the same branding.

Chapman is in line to host the first Saturday show of the season, with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney joining him. Cates will be on presenting duties the following Wednesday, hosting a highlights show after the Super Cup clash between Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain.

Lineker's exit as Match of the Day host was confirmed before the end of last season, but he had been slated to continue hosting the BBC's FA Cup and World Cup coverage. However, that changed after he shared a pro-Palestine video which attracted criticism for its use of a rat emoji.

“I missed it [the rat emoji]. To be honest, I wouldn’t have understood the connotations anyway until it was pointed out to me," Lineker told The New World, indicating his BBC exit was a case of 'quit or be quitted'.

"I genuinely didn’t see it. I’m not an idiot. I may not have known it was an antisemitic trope, but I would have wondered why someone had put a rat there. Why would you ever conflate a rodent with a human? I wouldn’t do that on purpose – it would be the biggest act of self-harm ever. But, yeah, it was a tough couple of days.”

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