January 17 – The announcement that the entire country of England has been anxiously awaiting has finally happened. Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan will be the new Match of the Day (MOTD) presenters from next season, the BBC has announced.
Long-time host, Gary Lineker, who announced earlier this year that he would be leaving the most coveted hosting spot in English TV and football will continue on for the rest of the season though.
MOTD can proudly boast to be the longest-running football show in the world. Having launched on 22 August 1964, the show has had just five main presenters in its history but the role of host has never been shared, until now.
BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski said: “I know viewers will love these three incredible broadcasters and journalists at the heart of our football coverage next season.
“They’re brilliant at what they do and MOTD viewers can be sure they will be well looked after as the big football talking points are expertly analysed.
“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.
“Outside of Match of the Day we’ve got some great new shows, voices and surprises lined up for the 2025-26 season across audio, video, and digital and we look forward to sharing them with you all later in the year.
“It’s a truly exciting time for BBC Sport’s football coverage.”
Former England players Alan Shearer and Micah Richards will continue as regular MOTD pundits, and it will be interesting to see how the chemistry is different between these two and the presenters who will rotate from week to week.
Chapman has been the main MOTD2 host since 2013 and works regularly on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“People might find this hard to believe but there’s absolutely no competition between the three of us,” he said.
Logan, who has presented MOTD standing in for Lineker said: “I think what’s interesting is although we’re sharing the role, we won’t actually be working together on Match of the Day.”
Cates said: “We are all friends and we’ve known each other for a long time and that’s a really lovely part of it.”
Ultimately, this is one of the crown jewels of the BBC empire and the scrutiny will be intense in the first few weeks of the 2025/26 season.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1737142848labto1737142848ofdlr1737142848owedi1737142848sni@o1737142848fni1737142848