Football fans are keen for one of Gary Lineker’s colleagues to replace him on Match of the Day, a new poll has revealed.
The BBC announced in a statement last week that Lineker, 63, will leave the iconic highlights show at the end of the season after almost 26 years at the helm.
Fans are heavily speculating who could replace the England legend in the future, with Lineker set to begin his long farewell on Match of the Day.
Despite leaving the BBC’s flagship football show, the ex-Tottenham, Leicester and Barcelona star has agreed a one-year contract extension with the Beeb to continue providing their FA Cup and World Cup coverage next campaign .
This is evident from a poll conducted by a market research agency IpsosFootball fans are keen to see returning Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer take control of the show, with the Newcastle and Blackburn legend taking 22 per cent of the vote.
Mark Chapman, host of the highlights show’s sister program Match of the Day 2, was a close second favorite among fans to succeed Lineker, with 20 percent.
Football fans want a colleague of Gary Lineker to replace him on Match of the Day
Lineker will step down as host of Match of the Day at the end of the season after almost 26 years
Alan Shearer is the fan favorite to take over Lineker’s role on the show, a poll shows
Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC’s sports director, is keen to turn the show around and hopes a new presenter can attract a younger audience to the programme.
So several female presenters are lined up to replace Lineker, with Gabby Logan, Alex Scott, Kelly Cates and Kelly Somers all touted as contenders.
Scott is third in the Ipsos poll rankings with 12 percent of the vote, while Logan is fourth with 10 percent.
Shearer first appeared on Match of the Day in 2006 and has been a regular on the program since 2009, alongside Lineker as a pundit.
The two former England teammates have continued to strengthen their close bond over the years and now work together on projects outside the BBC, most notably on their football podcast The Rest Is Football alongside Micah Richards.
Richards, who started as a Match of the Day pundit three years ago, secured eight per cent of the vote in the Ipsos poll, while former Aston Villa star and Homes Under the Hammer presenter Dion Dublin came in with seven per cent.
The last four names in the poll – Cates, Jason Mohammed, Kate Abdo and Somers – received three, two, two and one percent of the votes respectively.
Finally, four percent of voters chose someone else to replace Lineker on Match of the Day, while nine percent were unsure who to vote for.
Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards, who joins Lineker and Shearer in The Rest is Football, is another contender for the presenting role and received eight percent of the vote in the poll
Alex Scott (above), who is also in the frame, had the third most votes, ahead of Richards in fifth place
Market research agency Ipsos asked fans in a new poll who they would like to replace Lineker
Some avid viewers of the program fear that viewing figures will plummet with a female presenter at the helm.
BBC’s weekend program Football Focus has become much less popular in terms of viewing figures since Scott became a full-time presenter in 2021.
Sources claimed in October that Scott is ‘deeply hurt’ by a ‘lack of support’ around Football Focus, and unhappy with the broadcaster’s response to the criticism it has faced since the show’s decline.
In a secondary part of the Ipsos poll, fans were asked to vote on whether they would prefer a male or female presenter on Match of the Day.
According to the poll, 52 percent of male voters would prefer a man to present the program, while 44 percent have no preference and four percent would prefer a female presenter.
Meanwhile, 41 percent of women chose a man to front the show, while 48 percent had no preference and nine percent preferred a woman at the helm.
Overall, the survey found that almost half (48 percent) of football fans would prefer a man to replace Lineker, while a similar percentage (45 percent) say they ultimately don’t care which gender is presenting the show.
Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling this week urged the BBC to be cautious in appointing Lineker’s successor, claiming catering to a younger audience could have disastrous consequences.
Mark Chapman (right) came second in the fan poll, while Gabby Logan (left) took fourth place
Just under half of those surveyed would like to see a male presenter replace Lineker during Match of the Day
Jeff Stelling (above) has urged the BBC to be cautious in appointing Lineker’s successor, claiming catering to younger audiences could have disastrous consequences
Saturday’s ex-footballer, who believes Match of the Day should target an audience of all ages, told the Telegraph: ‘Demographics? I never bought into a new demographic.
‘It’s a hopeless quest to find a younger audience who probably won’t be interested in the program anyway by having younger presenters, influencers and social media types.
‘I never believed this was the way forward. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always felt that the way to attract an audience of any demographic is to ensure you’re putting out a high-quality product.
‘If the program is being watched by mums and dads in their forties, make sure it’s good enough so that the new generation in their forties will want to watch it too.
‘When I hear someone talking about a football match, I would rather it be someone who has played the game and can see things that people like me, standing on the terraces, cannot see, than for there to be a big figure on it. social media.’