Kelly Cates ‘to replace Gary Lineker on BBC’s Match of the Day’
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Presenter will reportedly leave Sky Sports to join a revamped team including Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan for next season. The football presenter Kelly Cates is understood to be leaving Sky Sports to replace Gary Lineker on the BBC’s Match of the Day.
Cates, a popular broadcaster and the daughter of the former Liverpool footballer Kenny Dalglish, is understood to be joining a new presenting team including the Match of the Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman and the BBC sports broadcaster Gabby Logan for next season.
When approached by the Guardian, the BBC said it had a policy to not “comment on speculation”, while a spokesperson for Sky Sports noted that they had seen reports of Cates’ departure and had “nothing to add”. The Daily Mail reported that Sky bosses were understood to be “deeply saddened” by the loss of Cates, 49, who has presented the channel’s Premier League coverage since 2017. She had been identified by the BBC as the leading external candidate to replace Lineker.
It is thought that Cates, who also regularly presents for BBC Radio 5 Live, will share rotating hosting responsibilities for Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 with the other two presenters. The trio will replace Lineker, who will step down at the end of the season. He has presented Match of the Day since 1999, and will leave the BBC entirely after the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
