Match of the Day: Who could replace Gary Lineker as host?

BBC

They think it's all over... and it will be soon for Gary Lineker as host of BBC One's Match of the Day.

The former England striker-turned-broadcaster will leave the long-running football highlights show after 25 years at the helm at the end of the season, the BBC understands.

The Sun reports he will leave the BBC altogether after leading coverage of the 2026 men's World Cup.

So, who are the potential star signings that could fill the vacant hot seat to become the show's sixth main presenter in its 60-year history?

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A familiar face to football fans, Mark 'Chappers' Chapman is considered by many to be a front-runner with his warm presenting style.

He brings a wealth of experience, having regularly stood in to present Match of the Day and fronted its sister programme, Match of the Day 2, for over a decade.

Chapman has also recently begun hosting the BBC's new mid-week Champions League highlights show, secured under a three-year deal with Uefa.

Outside television, the broadcaster presents a number of shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including its football-orientated Monday Night Club.

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Gabby Logan is one of the UK's most well-known sports presenters, with 20 years' experience hosting major football coverage across various networks.

After starting her broadcasting career at Sky, she moved to ITV, deputising for Des Lynam on The Premiership, the channel's highlights show launched after they won the rights from the BBC between 2001 and 2004.

Logan later succeeded Lynam to front Champions League coverage on the station, before departing under what she described as a "cloud" when her job as a World Cup anchor was given to a male presenter instead.

She swiftly joined the BBC in 2007 and has stood in for Lineker on Match of the Day, alongside covering the biggest sporting events, including the Six Nations, the Olympics, the men's and women's football World Cup and this summer's Euros.

Logan has recently begun hosting live games shown on streaming service Amazon Prime, further boosting her Premier League credentials.

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Scott, another regular Match of the Day stand-in, broke through as one of the first mainstream female football pundits after retiring from the game in 2017.

The former England and Arsenal midfielder became the first female analyst to be taken to a men's World Cup by the BBC when Russia hosted the tournament in 2018.

Later that summer, she also debuted as Sky Sports' first woman football pundit.

In 2021, she took over hosting duties for the BBC's Football Focus - replacing the departing Dan Walker on the weekend preview show.

An ever-present broadcaster at men’s and women’s tournaments since, Scott wore a rainbow armband during England’s first match of the Qatar World Cup - showing support for the LGBT community in a country where homosexuality remains illegal.

The recipient of an MBE, she defended her London accent after ex-House of Lords member Digby Jones criticised her pronunciation.

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Following a stint at TNT Sport, Kate Abdo has found her career transformed at the helm of CBS' Champions League coverage.

She previously told GQ that the show's success relies on its uninhibited feel, calling it the "locker room environment translated onto television" - mirroring the personality-driven tone younger audiences are used to from online sports content.

One of its pundit Micah Richards (see below) has separately described Abdo as the "glue" that keeps the controlled chaos of the show together; balancing frolics (such as being teased into revealing her first kiss) with genuine analysis from the panel.

As young audiences increasingly turn their back on terrestrial TV, the BBC is under pressure to adapt - particularly as individual match highlights now appear on YouTube long before Match of the Day's 10:30pm time slot.

There's no doubt the new-age formula has worked for CBS, but it is a far cry from the traditions of Match of the Day. Could it work on the BBC? And would Abdo want to risk jeopardising CBS' popular dynamic?

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Alan Shearer, alongside Lineker, is one of England's all-time great goal-scorers. Despite retiring in 2006, he still holds the Premier League goal record and remains top scorer for Newcastle United.

This pedigree helped him become a mainstay pundit on the BBC and Match of the Day. He also formed a strong trio with Lineker and Richards, first on the BBC's Match of the Day podcast and latterly The Rest is Football - produced independently on Lineker's hugely successful Goalhanger podcast company. These have allowed him to show off more of his personality.

Now almost 20 years into his media career, Shearer is however yet to host a show - could that step up to becoming Match of the day anchor finally be on the horizon?

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The ex-Manchester City and England defender burst onto the footballing scene as a teenager, but, after an on-pitch career curtailed by a knee injury, Richards has blossomed as the ever-animated pundit with a mega-watt personality to boot.

He embodies the modern take on the role, engaging viewers not only with analysis but also fun-loving camaraderie shared between analysts and presenter.

His media career blossomed as a jovial foil to the tough-talking, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane on Sky Sports' Super Sunday.

Similar roles have followed on Match of the Day and for CBS' Champions League coverage - where humorous off-script moments between presenter Abdo, Richards himself and Premier League legends Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry regularly trend on social media.

Asking Richards to make the step up to presenting duties on a show as prestigious as Match of the Day would represent a risk from bosses, but certainly mark a fresh start and shift in tone.

He also has the backing of Lineker, who, when discussing the speculation over his future on The Rest is Football, told Richards: "I'd love to see you take over. I think you'd be brilliant in the chair."

Beginning his career in music as a fun-loving, noughties upstart on BBC Radio 1, Colin Murray soon moved into sport broadcasting.

The northern Irishman balanced hosting BBC Radio 5 Live's raucous sport comedy panel show Fighting Talk with anchoring European football on Channel 5, before moving to precede Mark Chapman in the hot seat on Match of the Day 2.

But controversy later struck when Murray used Fighting Talk's 'Defend the Indefensible' segment to ask panellists whether they would be able to "turn" the sexuality of openly gay broadcaster Clare Balding. The BBC soon issued an apology. Within months Murray had left the BBC to join TalkSport radio.

Murray has since expressed regret, admitting to The Guardian: "The second I said it... I knew it was over the line".

In the years since, Murray has rehabilitated his BBC career, returning to present various shows on 5 Live and expanding to become the host of Channel 4's long-running word show, Countdown.

A chance at the main Match of the Day role may end up a step too far, but Murray is certainly a tried, tested and trusted football anchor with appeal spanning all age groups.

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Prior to quitting the BBC for Channel 5 in 2022, Dan Walker shared his high-profile BBC Breakfast presenting tole with 12 years as the host of Football Focus.

Walker would offer bosses a clean cut image and a safe pair of hands were he to take the role, having previously also covered Olympics and football World Cups for the BBC. He has also recently covered games for Amazon Prime.

But questions remain over Walker's own interest - he is on a bumper contract at Channel 5 and has persistently batted away suggestions of a return to the BBC.

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Laura Woods made her name on TalkSport, receiving plaudits for her relatable style as a host and interviewer.

She has since stepped up to become lead presenter for TNT Sports' Champions League coverage, replacing Jake Humphrey when the channel rebranded from BT Sport last year.

Woods also presents football on Amazon Prime and ITV - joining the latter for coverage of this summer's Euros.

Earlier this summer she spoke of receiving "numerous death threats" online after commenting on an article questioning the eligibility of Olympic champion boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting.

Woods fits the mould of Abdo and Richards in bringing a more personality-led style to her broadcasting.

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Humphrey is a vastly experienced sports broadcaster, with a catalogue of BBC experience to draw upon prior to his later career exploits.

After an early career on BBC children's TV, by 2006 he had started working with BBC Sport, presenting Formula 1, Football Focus, Final Score and becoming the youngest ever host in Match of the Day's history.

Since stepping back from BT Sport, Humphrey has focused on his successful High-Performance podcast, exploring the lives of high-achieving individuals. However, Humphrey remains a fan of Match of the Day, previously telling The Express he would "never say never" to hosting the "legendary show".

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An experienced anchor across radio and TV, football is Cates' life-blood, quite literally - she is the daughter of Liverpool and Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish.

The broadcaster has hosted BBC Radio 5 Live's 606 football phone-in and, more recently, the station's Football Daily podcast, in amongst numerous other roles at major tournaments.

But she is best-known in front of the camera as part of the presenting roster for Sky Sports' Premier League coverage - including its flagship Super Sunday programme.

Cates, like Logan, brings both pedigree and gender diversity - but it remains to be seen if she could be tempted away from Sky.