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With Gary Lineker set to leave his role as Match of the Day presenter at the end of the season, the BBC will soon begin the hunt for his replacement.<\/p>\n
The former England striker will then leave the BBC after fronting the corporation\u2019s coverage of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.<\/p>\n
The 63-year-old took over as host of Match Of The Day in 1999, having started as a presenter on BBC Radio Five Live and Grandstand.<\/p>\n
In the role, the former Leicester City striker would become the corporation\u2019s highest-paid presenter, with his current annual salary estimated to be worth \u00a31.35 million.<\/p>\n
In March last year, Lineker briefly stepped away from presenting the programme after his tweet about the British government\u2019s asylum policy sparked a row about BBC presenters expressing political views on social media.<\/p>\n
Here we take a look at five candidates to replace Lineker.<\/p>\n
Alex Scott<\/p>\n
Scott enjoyed a successful playing career with Arsenal and England before moving into broadcasting after her retirement in 2017.<\/p>\n
She has presented The One Show and has also worked alongside Lineker in the past as a presenter of the BBC\u2019s Sports Personality of the Year programme.<\/p>\n
She was also a contestant on one of the corporation\u2019s flagship entertainment shows, Strictly Come Dancing, in 2019, while more recently has presented Football Focus.<\/p>\n
Gabby Logan<\/p>\n
Former gymnast Logan has presented MOTD in Lineker\u2019s absence on many occasions in the past, while she also fronted the BBC\u2019s coverage as the Lionesses stormed to glory in the Women\u2019s Euros in 2023.<\/p>\n
She has also been involved in the BBC\u2019s coverage of Six Nations rugby, and the last four summer Olympic Games.<\/p>\n
Mark Chapman<\/p>\n
\u2018Chappers\u2019 is the regular presenter of Match of the Day 2, which shows highlights of Premier League action on Sunday evenings.<\/p>\n
He is also a key part of the BBC\u2019s coverage of football on radio, presenting Sports Report on 5 Live and the Monday Night Club on the same channel.<\/p>\n
Jason Mohammad<\/p>\n
Mohammad first started to work for the BBC in 1997 and remains host of the organisation\u2019s Final Score show on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
A regular deputy for Lineker and Chapman on both Match of the Day shows, the Welsh presenter has been among the BBC\u2019s highest earners.<\/p>\n
Kelly Somers<\/p>\n
Kelly Somers, right, with England midfielder James Maddison (Nick Potts\/PA) (PA Archive)Somers became the sixth woman to present an edition of Match of the Day in 2020 and has held a variety of roles across the BBC.<\/p>\n
A frequent face during matches for England\u2019s men at the 2020 Euros and the World Cup in 2022, Somers has fronted Channel 4\u2019s coverage of the national team over the last two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our\u00a0privacy policy With Gary Lineker set to leave his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n