Gary Lineker will be stepping down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season after 25 years.
The former England and Barcelona footballer replaced Des Lynam in 1999 and has been a feature on Saturday nights on BBC 1 since bringing a relaxed style to the lead role.
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BBC have a few months to find a replacement but they are big shoes to fill, just as Sky Sports had to do to replace Jeff Stelling for their well renowned Soccer Saturday programme.
Mark Chapman is the leading contender having been a staple, presenting on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday’s along with a plethora of sports broadcasting roles across rugby, EFL Cup on Sky Sports and hosts the Sports Report on BBC 5 Live.
Other names already involved in the BBC are also leading contenders including former England footballer Alex Scott, who was a pundit across the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the 2020 Olympics and many more.
Scott has been a feature on BBC presenting Football Focus since May 2021 and is second favourite to replace Lineker.
Next Match of the Day presenter
- Mark Chapman 13/8
- Alex Scott 4/1
- Kelly Cates 9/2
- Gabby Logan 8/1
- Dion Dublin 12/1
- 14/1 BAR
View full ‘Next Match of the Day presenter‘ odds HERE.
There are a plethora of names that could potentially replace the former England star, including other England internationals turned pundits and broadcasters.
Peter Crouch is a huge price while Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are both bigger prices at 50/1 currently, both working as pundits on Premier League coverage across a variety of TV channels.
Long-time pundit on Match of the Day, Ian Wright, is also amongst the contenders in the odds at 25/1 while big personality Micah Richards is shorter at 16/1, giving BBC plenty of options and directions in where they want to take the historic show.
