Sky look to replace Jeff Stelling with internal appointment amid cost cuts
Sky looks set to replace popular Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling with an internal hire amid cost cuts… with Jules Warren and Adam Smith leading the way to replace the veteran despite previous talks with Mark Chapman
- Stelling announced last weekend that he would stop the show
- Several Sky football reporters have faced layoffs amid the cost cuts
- Chapman was in talks to replace Stelling when he was due to leave last year
Sky Sports is set to make an internal appointment to replace Jeff Stelling as host of Soccer Saturday next season, after the veteran presenter announced his departure on last weekend’s programme.
Sky are in a major cost-cutting operation after losing nine per cent of their UK subscribers last year, with several of their football reporters on the brink of being sacked, and a high-cash recruit from outside the organization deemed inappropriate in the circumstances.
Match of the Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman was approached by Sky to head up Soccer Saturday when Stelling considered stepping down last year, but existing staffers Jules Warren and Adam Smith are now seen as front-runners.
“I’ve been with Sky for over 30 years and have loved every moment of my time as part of the Soccer Saturday team,” Stelling told Sky Sports when announcing his departure.
Now is the right time to move on and give Sky Sports viewers a break from my relentless tirades, bad jokes and over the top celebrations of Hartlepool United goals. It’s been a lot of fun – at least for me.’
Sky will confirm an internal replacement for the departing Jeff Stelling amid cost-cutting efforts
Stelling confirmed that he would step down from his role as host of Soccer Saturday last weekend
Stelling initially quit his stint with Soccer Saturday in 2021 after insisting he leave at the end of that campaign, but the veteran broadcaster eventually returned for an additional season.
It is not known when the company will make an announcement about who will replace the 68-year-old, but the appointment is unlikely to be external.
Stelling’s departure from the beloved weekly broadcast follows that of his former co-presenters Phil Thompson, Charlie Nicholas and Matt Le Tissier.
The former players were sacked in August 2020, after Sky opted to revamp the programme, in a decision Stelling called ‘one of my saddest days ever at Sky Sports’, though he kept his job.