| Match of the Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | MOTD |
| Genre | Football highlights[1] |
| Created by | Bryan Cowgill[2] |
| Presented by | Kelly Cates Mark Chapman Gabby Logan |
| Starring | Danny Murphy Micah Richards Alan Shearer[3][4] |
| Narrated by | Guy Mowbray Steve Wilson Steve Bower Simon Brotherton Jonathan Pearce Conor McNamara |
| Theme music composer | Barry Stoller[5] |
| Opening theme | Match of the Day theme |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 62 |
| No. of episodes | Over 5,000 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Colm Harty |
| Production locations | Studio TC5,BBC Television Centre (1964–2011) dock10 studios (2011–present)[6] |
| Editor | Richard Hughes |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Live: 150–210 minutes (Depends on Extra time or Penalties) Highlights: 60–105 minutes |
| Production company | BBC Sport |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 22 August 1964 (1964-08-22) – present |
| Related | |
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Match of the Day (abbreviated toMOTD) is afootball highlights programme, typically broadcast onBBC One on Saturday nights during thePremier League season.[7][1]
Match of the Day is one of theBBC's longest-running shows, having been on air since 22 August 1964.[8] In 2015,Guinness World Records recognised it "as the longest-running football television programme in the world."[9] Analysis is currently provided byDanny Murphy,Micah Richards andAlan Shearer, among others.[3][4] FormerEngland international strikerGary Lineker was the series' longest-serving presenter (1999—2025). From the2004–05 season, a second programme,Match of the Day 2, has usually aired on a Sunday in the football season, featuring highlights of all the day's games, whilst showing the goals from the Saturday action.[10]
The show's theme tune was voted the most recognised television theme in a 2010 poll conducted by thePRS.[8]
Although the title was first used by theBBC for itsWimbledontennis highlights programme in June 1964, the first football-related edition ofMatch of the Day was screened onBBC2 on 22 August 1964, and showed highlights of a game betweenLiverpool andArsenal atAnfield. The programme's audience was estimated at only 20,000, less than half of the attendance at the ground.[11]
Match of the Day was not universally welcomed in the football world; in 1965 several clubs attempted to block a renewed deal with the BBC in fear of a drop in gate attendances at matches.[12] Eventually, a compromise was reached where the BBC agreed not to reveal which match was to be shown until after the day's play had concluded. Following the success of theEngland team at the1966 FIFA World Cup, the programme was moved from BBC2 toBBC1 for the start of the 1966–1967 season.[13] The firstcolour edition was shown on 2 November 1968, when the programme moved back to BBC2 for one week, and a game betweenChelsea andManchester City was featured (BBC 2 was transmitted on625 lines capable of showing colour). Two other First Division games from the 1968-69 season were also broadcast on BBC2 in colour.[12][14] The firstcolour edition ofMatch of the Day on BBC1 was shown on 15 November 1969, where it featured a game betweenLiverpool andWest Ham United.
Slow motion replays were first introduced in 1969.[11] At the end of the decade the BBC lost a significant share of matches, with a new four-year deal in 1979 splitting the rights between the BBC andITV (ITV had originally won exclusive rights, but a ruling from theOffice of Fair Trading ordered that the rights be split[14]).Match of the Day was moved to Sunday afternoons for the1980–81 and1982–83 seasons.
In 1983, the programme reverted to being shown on Saturday night, although that year four broadcasts were lost due to industrial action.[11] The season 1983–84 also saw the firstMatch of the Day Live broadcasts of First Division matches, beginning withManchester United vsTottenham Hotspur on 16 December – a Friday evening fixture. This came some two months after the start ofITV'sBig Match Live.
League football highlights were not available to theBBC from 1988 as ITV had exclusive rights, though the programme remained on air for theFA Cup asMatch of the Day: The Road to Wembley. League football returned in 1992, for the start of thePremier League era.[12]Sky's emergence made the TV rights market more competitive, with the BBC losingEuropean Cup matches afterUEFA's revamping as the Champions League in 1992, although it did broadcast the1994 final betweenA.C. Milan andFC Barcelona. In 1997, the BBC lost all live rights to theFA Cup meaning the programme's live coverage was restricted to theUEFA Cup andCup Winners' Cup matches, the latter competition becoming defunct in 1999. The BBC were still able to show Saturday evening highlights of FA Cup games. A significant change occurred in 2001 when the Premier League awarded highlights rights to ITV in a three-year contract.[15] Between 2001 and 2004, theMatch of the Day brand was used for the BBC's live football coverage and the network had earned some consolation in losing by managing to regain live terrestrial coverage of the FA Cup and England internationals for that period.
Rights forUEFA Champions League qualifiers, which are held by the home team and fall outside the rights for the competition proper, were obtained on an ad hoc basis for English teams in this period, which is currently the case for the BBC with Scottish and Northern Irish teams. Both legs of Manchester United's 2002–03 third round qualifying matches againstZalaegerszeg were shown live on the BBC.[16]
From the 2004–05 season, Premier League highlights returned to the BBC in a revivedMOTD.[17] In addition,Match of the Day 2 was launched, which showed highlights of the increasing number of Sunday fixtures, and was initially presented byAdrian Chiles.[12] The BBC's broadcasting rights were renewed in 2009, allowing them to continue showingMatch of the Day until 2013.[18]
From the2011–12 season, a web-onlyMatch of the Day 3 programme was launched on Monday mornings as a light-hearted addition toMatch of the Day 2. Although broadcast as a separate programme, it is recorded immediately following the conclusion ofMatch of the Day 2 on Sunday night. In November 2011,Match of the Day moved from London to a brand new studio inDock10,MediaCityUK as part of BBC Sport's relocation north, this allowed the programme to be recorded inhigh-definition.[19] At the start of 2012–13 seasonMatch of the Day 2 moved toBBC One.[20]
Upon regaining theFA Cup rights in 2014, highlights from the early and later rounds of the competition were given their own separate programme instead of being broadcast on an extendedMatch of the Day straight after thePremier League highlights, as it was before the BBC last lost the rights in 2008.[21][22] Highlights of the latter rounds occasionally sequence from the Premier League highlights, as they did until the previous decade, but both segments are considered separate programmes.[23][24]
In January 2018, thePremier League awarded the UK highlights to BBC Sport. The rights cost £211.5 million and were to cover three seasons from 2019–20. The January 2018 agreement also includesMatch of the Day 2,Match of the Day 2 Extra,Match of the Day Kickabout,Football Focus,Final Score andThe Premier League Show.[25]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the2019–20 Premier League season,Match of the Day split into a televised podcast calledMatch of the Day: Top 10 Podcast in which Gary Lineker and the pundits discussed and ranked certain roles from the start of the Premier League in 1992 (such as Top 10 Goalkeepers) andMatch of their Day which featured a pundit picking three of their favourite Premier League matches.[26][27] Upon its resumption, the BBC broadcast four games live.Bournemouth versusCrystal Palace became the first Premier League game shown live on one of the five main terrestrial channels, and the BBC's first live top-flight English football match since1987–88.[28] A further eight games were shown live during the2020–21 season.[29]
In July 2022, the BBC acquired the rights to show highlights of the men'sUEFA Champions League on television,iPlayer and digitally from the 2024-25 to 2026-27 seasons.[30] As part of this, on 21 August 2024, the first episode ofMOTD: UEFA Champions League aired onBBC One.[31]
In March 2023, Lineker was suspended following political controversy over a tweet he had made criticising UK government policy, which the BBC argued breached guidelines over social media use by employees and freelancers.[32] Several presenters, pundits and commentators, includingAlex Scott,Ian Wright andAlan Shearer, refused to participate in the BBC's football output, while some football clubs announced their refusal to conduct BBC interviews.[33] Radio and television programming across BBC Sport's football division was severely disrupted on 11 March, while BBC director generalTim Davie apologised to viewers for the disruption.[34] BothMatch of the Day andMatch of the Day 2, presented the following day, followed a shortened format with no studio presentation, punditry, or interviews.[35] On 13 March, Lineker was reinstated as host ofMatch of the Day and the BBC began a review of its social media guidelines.[36][37]
At the end of 2023, the BBC and Premier League agreed on a deal whereby Premier League highlights will be shown onMatch Of The Day,Match of the Day 2 andFootball Focus up to and including the 2028–29 season. The deal also includes a significant increase in the amount of digital content that can be used across BBC Sport platforms.[38]
In 2025,Gary Lineker ended his run as the longest-serving presenter ofMatch of the Day. His departure followed a petition, signed by over 10,000 individuals, calling for theBBC to remove him from his position due to controversial social media posts unrelated to football. Lineker stated that he was unaware his pro-Palestine activism on social media contained "antisemitic" content, but issued an apology in response to the controversy. BBC Director GeneralTim Davie noted in a statement, “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.”[39][40]
The programme was broadcast from TC5 atBBC Television Centre from 1964–2012.[citation needed]
Ahead of the2019–20 Premier League season,BBC Sport upgraded the studio thatMatch of the Day,Match of the Day 2,Football Focus andFinal Score broadcasts from.
Filming is located at theDock10 studios atMediaCityUK inSalford.[41]
Despite the programme's long running status there have been only five regular main presenters:Kenneth Wolstenholme (1964–1967),David Coleman (1967–1973),Jimmy Hill (1973–1988),Des Lynam (1988–1999) andGary Lineker (1999–2025). Lineker had worked as ananalyst during his predecessor Des Lynam's tenure.
In 2005, Celina Hinchcliffe became the first woman to present on the programme.[42][43]
In November 2024, Gary Lineker announced that he would be departing the Premier League highlights edition shows at the end of the 2024-25 season.[44]
In January 2025, theBBC announced thatKelly Cates,Mark Chapman andGabby Logan would share the presenting ofMatch of the Day,Match of the Day 2 andMatch of the Day: Champions League following Lineker's departure.[45]
Among the analysts featured during the2024–25 season areDanny Murphy,Micah Richards andAlan Shearer.[3][4]
PreviousMatch of the Day analysts includeJimmy Hill,Alan Hansen,Mark Lawrenson andIan Wright.[46][47][48]
Match of the Day uses a selection ofBBC andfreelancecommentators, including:Guy Mowbray,Steve Wilson,Jonathan Pearce,Steve Bower,Simon Brotherton,Conor McNamara,Vicki Sparks,Alistair Mann, Martin Fisher, Mark Scott, John Roder, Chris Wise,Robyn Cowen,Steven Wyeth, Tom Gayle, James Fielden and Ben Andrews.
In 2007,Jacqui Oatley became the first woman to commentate on the programme.[12][49]
Previous commentators have includedWalley Barnes,Frank Bough,David Coleman,Jon Champion,Barry Davies,Tony Gubba,Stuart Hall,John Motson,Alan Parry,Idwal Robling,Gerald Sinstadt,Clive Tyldesley,Alan Weeks andKenneth Wolstenholme. As part of the show's 50th anniversary celebrations,Barry Davies returned to commentate.[50][51]
* Denotes relief presenter
| Presenter | Duration |
|---|---|
| Mark Chapman | 2014– |
| Kelly Cates | 2025– |
| Gabby Logan | 2007– |
| *Alex Scott | 2022– |
| *Kelly Somers | 2020– |
| *Jason Mohammad | 2014– |
| *Eilidh Barbour | 2024– |
* Denotes relief presenter
| Presenter | Duration |
|---|---|
| Gary Lineker | 1999–2025 |
| *Jermaine Jenas | 2023–2024 |
| *Dan Walker | 2012–2021 |
| *Ray Stubbs | 1993–2009 |
| Des Lynam | 1988–1999 |
| *David Icke | 1982–1985 |
| Bob Wilson | 1976–1994 |
| Jimmy Hill | 1973–1988 |
| David Coleman | 1967–1973 |
| *Frank Bough | 1965–1972 |
| Kenneth Wolstenholme | 1964–1967 |
| Analyst | Duration |
|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 2006–2009, 2009– |
| Martin Keown | 2007– |
| Danny Murphy | 2013– |
| Dion Dublin | 2012–2013, 2018– |
| Shay Given | 2018– |
| Stephen Warnock | 2020– |
| Micah Richards | 2021– |
| Wayne Rooney | 2025– |
| Leon Osman | 2021– |
| Ashley Williams | 2021– |
| Fara Williams | 2023– |
| Glenn Murray | 2023– |
| Joe Hart | 2024– |
| Theo Walcott | 2024– |
| Steph Houghton | 2024– |
List includes both full time regular analysts and guests.[52]
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The current theme tune for the series is titled "Match of the Day". It was composed for the programme in 1970 by Barry Stoller, and was used for the first time on 15 August 1970.
Stoller's brief was simply to write "something good"; the short closing fanfare occurred to him first.[53] "Those fanfare harmonies give the music a gladiator feel," he wrote in 2014, "akin to entering the ancient games arena in Rome with all its expectations." The tune was recorded by him, a trumpeter and a drummer (Stuart Vincent) in the basement recording studio of his home.[5] In May 2010,PRS for Music revealed that theMatch of the Day theme tune is the most recognisable in the UK.[54]Though Stoller is credited with the WHOLE theme, for the fanfare intro and parts thereafter he MUST have listened to the 1959 recording of 'Football Crazy' by Robin Hall and Jimmie MacGregor as the similarities are quite remarkable. The arrangement of the song being credited to the singers.
The theme is often incorrectly labelled "Off Side", the group name used by musicianMike Vickers, for an alternative 1970 version of Stoller's tune, which was released as a45 rpm gramophone single on thePye label (7N 25534),[14]
The original theme tune, entitled "Drum Majorette", was written by MajorLeslie Statham, a former band member of theWelsh Guards under the pen-name Arnold Steck.[55][14][56]
AMatch of the Day Annual book is also produced.[58]
Jacqui Oatley, 32, will make television history when she picks up the microphone for the BBC's flagship football show at the Premier League game between Fulham and Blackburn.
