Gary Lineker will step down as presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the 2024-25 season and leave the BBC entirely following the 2026 World Cup.

The move will end Lineker’s 26-year stint as anchor of the popular football highlights show and will spark a hotly contested race to replace him as the new face of the Premier League on terrestrial TV.

With the BBC recently securing the rights to show another three years of top-flight highlights, Telegraph Sport analyses who could replace Lineker in the hot seat and our panel of experts make their choice.

The contenders

Mark Chapman

Chapman has risen to the position of Match of the Day 2 presenter and has covered for Lineker when the former England captain is absent from the main Saturday night show. He was voted Sports Presenter of the Year by the Sports Journalists’ Association for the second year in a row in March and is hugely admired from both within and outside the profession for his versatility and down-to-earth approach.

Gabby Logan

One of the best and most popular sports broadcasters in the country. A huge football fan – her father Terry Yorath was a distinguished player and manager – and has reported extensively on the national sport across various platforms including ITV and the BBC, where she has also presented Match of the Day on occasion. Currently the BBC’s lead Six Nations rugby presenter.

Mark Pougatch

Has considerable broadcasting experience following several decades on BBC Radio 5 Live before becoming ITV’s lead football presenter in 2015. He also co-hosts ITV’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup coverage.

Dan Walker

The former Football Focus anchor also presented Match of the Day on occasion in Lineker’s absence. Walker has since switched focus from sport and worked as a presenter on BBC Breakfast from 2016 before moving to Channel Five in 2022, where he is now one of the presenting faces of 5News.

Alex Scott

Like Lineker, Scott entered sports broadcasting following a successful playing career that included 140 England caps. She became the first female pundit for a men’s World Cup in 2018 when she was part of the BBC panel and, after also presenting The One Show and Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday, succeeded Walker as host of Football Focus in 2021. Viewing figures have plummeted on her watch at a time of declining interest in television preview shows, but she has built a loyal online following with more than two million on Instagram, the most of any credible candidate.

Micah Richards

A less likely option than the prominent broadcasters, but the BBC were not afraid to tap into a former footballer-turned-pundit before and could do so again. Backed by Lineker and co-pundit Alan Shearer to be the face of the show going forward on one of the trio’s recent podcast episodes. A familiar face to live football viewers worldwide after regular appearances on the BBC, Sky Sports and US channel CBS, and may well have the strongest appeal among frontrunners towards the younger demographic of viewers that the broadcaster so craves.

Expert picks

Oliver Brown: Jeff Stelling

A vanishingly unlikely appointment, but Stelling is one of the outstanding broadcasters of his generation, in any field. Passionate, irrepressible, with Just A Minute-levels of never hesitating, deviating or repeating himself, he is also a defining voice of the game. The work that he did on Soccer Saturday for 25 years, seamlessly holding together hours of live football that you could not even see, was far more difficult than the Match of the Day job, where contributions could be carefully scripted and rehearsed.

The BBC, with its record on ageism, will surely be unable to look past the fact that Stelling is 69. Who cares? He is still the best available, bringing priceless name and brand recognition. Peerlessly knowledgeable, he would be the comforting, authoritative Saturday-night presence that MotD needs to survive.

Alan Tyers: Ed Chamberlin

Was a great football presenter on Sky, very adept at getting the best out of the people around him. A consummate professional and a superb live broadcaster. He has extensive terrestrial TV exposure due to fronting ITV Racing, would slot in brilliantly, drama-free. Not the sort of guy to frighten the horses.

Jeremy Wilson: Mark Chapman

Sometimes the obvious choice is also the best one. Chapman blends genuine enthusiasm and knowledge for football with an eye for the wider story. Kelly Cates is another outstanding candidate whose knowledge is vast but also has the ability to combine a lighter touch and some humour with dealing with the controversies.

Thom Gibbs: Kelly Cates

Would be delighted with bookie’s favourite Chapman who would be as close to a seamless transition as possible, without any of the social media sideshows to worry about. But this is also a chance to break with the past, set a new path and refresh the tone of the show. Have never seen Cates put a foot wrong on TV. She always gets the best out of her pundits and reliably brings joy and levity to football, so easily lost in the current era. Would be a perfect choice for the new MotD.

Ben Rumsby: Mark Chapman

Chapman is by far the outstanding candidate to lead MotD post-Lineker. He has hosted MotD 2 superbly for years, as well as being Lineker’s understudy on the main show. It would be a humiliating snub and an enormous own goal for the BBC to overlook him when the show needs a safe pair of hands after Lineker’s quarter of a century in the hot seat. Chapman has not posted on social media for three years and is highly unlikely to make headlines for the wrong reasons.