Match of the Day confirms Gary Lineker's replacement with new line-up

Speculation over who might step into his shoes has been rife, but we finally have an answer: Match of the Day will be presented by a rotating team of presenters, consisting of broadcasters Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.

Logan will be a particularly familiar face to regular viewers of BBC Sport, having recently played a major role in the broadcaster's coverage of both the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Sports Personality of the Year.

Following her confirmation for the BBC's flagship football programme, she commented (via BBC Sport): "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."

Cates is best known for her reporting on Sky Sports, where she will continue to work in addition to her regular appearances on Match of the Day.

She explained: "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."

Chapman is another seasoned sports broadcaster, who has previously made a name for himself on Match of the Day 2 and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he has hosted the Sports Report.

He said: "People might find this hard to believe but there's absolutely no competition between the three of us. 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.

"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."

BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski said that the chosen trio were "brilliant at what they do" and that he's confident Match of the Day viewers "will be well looked after" under their stewardship of the programme.

Kay-Jelski also paid tribute to Lineker, adding: "Gary has done a phenomenal job at Match of the Day for the last 25 years, he'll be missed greatly and we all still get to enjoy him on our screens across some of football's greatest tournaments."

The new Match of the Day presenting team will come into effect at the start of the next football season (2025/26).

Match of the Day is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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