The BBC has launched a new TikTok reality show to find social media’s next football star just days after it was revealed Gary Lineker would be leaving Match Of The Day.
The winner of the BBC show will be offered a job creating content for programs such as Football Focus.
Lineker will step down as presenter of the football highlights show at the end of the season but will continue to present coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the BBC previously confirmed.
The sports broadcaster said hosting Match of the Day for more than two decades was “an absolute joy and a privilege” but that it is “the right time” for him to leave and “someone else take over”, as the club hopes. BBC. make changes to the program.
“It has been an absolute joy and privilege to present such an iconic program for the BBC, but everything must come to an end,” Lineker said on his podcast, The Rest Is Football.
“It came at a point where actually the BBC and Match Of The Day had the rights for another three years, the cycle starts from the next season, so I felt if I only did one more year it would be a bit strange.” .’
The 63-year-old former England striker later added: “I left my football career when I felt the time was right.” I feel like now is the right time.
“I think in the next contract they are looking to make Match of the Day slightly different, so I think it makes sense for someone else to take over.”
Lineker, pictured yesterday catching a train, will also step down as Sports Personality of the Year
Lineker has become a fixture on Saturday night television for 25 years.
Arguably his most iconic moment on the show came when he was introduced in his underwear in August 2016 after Leicester City won the Premier League title.
A TikTok reality show will now search for the next football expert who can attract younger viewers.
The plan’s site said: “We’re looking for talented football obsessives who are as comfortable explaining the latest tactical innovations to fan culture as they are interviewing top players.”
‘All shortlisted candidates will be given an on-screen opportunity, as well as receiving training and upskilling as part of the programme.
‘Once the series is completed, the competition winner will also be offered a paid opportunity as a contributor to BBC Sport.
“The application window will open in December 2024 and full details will be available on this page in the coming weeks.”
Lineker refused to speculate who would take his place, as rumors grew around regular Match Of The Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman, Football Focus presenter Alex Scott and BBC sports coverage presenter Gabby Logan. .
After his departure was announced, he also spoke to MPs about prostate cancer and joined them in calls for a national prostate cancer screening programme.
“Obviously I don’t know who it will be, and I would never say publicly what my preference is, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do, but whoever it is, I would say be yourself,” he said. saying.
Mark Chapman has been touted as the favorite to replace Gary Lineker as Match of the Day presenter.
Alex Scott is also a contender for the prestigious role of the country’s most famous football presenter.
Micah Richards, expert on Lineker’s Match of the Day and The Rest Is Football, is also seen as a favourite.
I had to take the outsized place of one Des Lynam.
‘I would say just be yourself and enjoy it, it’s a wonderful program to be a part of. “He was brilliant before I took office and he will be brilliant after I leave.”
Lineker has presented Match Of The Day since 1999 and will have presented the show for more than a quarter of a century when he leaves in May 2025.
“I look back and it’s been an incredible experience and I feel incredibly lucky,” he said, before confirming he will continue watching Match Of The Day.
Lineker said it was nice to leave the show in “very good shape”, and described the viewing figures as “still very competitive on a Saturday night”.
“I left my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel like now is the right time.
“It’s BBC Sports’ flagship show and I hope it always will be.”
Last year, Lineker was briefly suspended as host of Match of the Day after his tweet about the British government’s asylum policy sparked a row over the corporation’s presenters expressing political opinions on social media.
“I’ve had a lot of chaos over the last few years in a lot of ways,” Lineker joked, saying he was on “close terms with some of the people outside my door.”
He added that he was surprised by “the amount of love” he has received since the news of his departure broke, which he called “a little crazy.”
“I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal, it’s just a guy who’s done a TV show for a long time, that’s all it is,” he said.
Lineker will continue the MOTD Top Ten podcast alongside his The Rest Is Football podcast, which also features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Richards described it as a “sad day” upon learning that Lineker left Match Of The Day.
“You’ve been in the game for 25 years at the highest level, people don’t do that, and you’ve done it for 25 years,” he said on the podcast.
‘It is a sad day, not only for us, but also for the people who have followed you over the years, because you are a great radio broadcaster.
‘Yes, you’re not leaving yet, but in terms of Match of the Day, I just want to thank you so much for everything you’ve done, not just for me, but for everyone associated and who’s watched you all year.’
Shearer described Lineker as an “incredible player, who played at the highest level for years and years and years” and an “incredible presenter for years and years and years.”
Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven years running and is estimated to have earned £1.35 million in the year 2023/24, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.
The BBC said future plans for Match of the Day would be “announced in due course”.
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.