Gary Lineker to leave Match of the Day at the end of the season – but presenter will host BBC’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup

Gary Lineker will leave his role as presenter of the iconic Match of the Day at the end of the season, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

The 63-year-old has hosted the BBC’s flagship show since 1999 and will have totalled 26 years by the end of this current Premier League season in May 2025.

Despite his pending departure from Match of the Day, Lineker – who earns £1.35million annually with the Beeb, will host BBC Sport’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup and also present their coverage of the FA Cup for the 2025-26 season.

‘I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen,’ the former England striker said following the announcement that he is not leaving the BBC entirely.

Gary Lineker will still feature regularly on the BBC

As well as their FA Cup and World Cup coverage, Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast and the BBC will also now host the popular The Rest is Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

The podcast features Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discussing the latest football news along with stories from their careers, and is part of Goalhanger productions, co-founded by Lineker.

This marks the first time it will also be made available on the BBC’s own audio platform; it is currently available on podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple.

The BBC said there will be one episode per week of The Rest is Football on BBC Sounds from next month.

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport described Lineker as a world-class presenter.

‘We’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup,’ he said.

‘After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.

‘He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.’

It is unclear who will replace Lineker at present, but the likes of Gabby Logan, Alex Scott, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman have all been linked to succeed him.