Match of the Day

Did You Know?

• The programme was broadcast from TC5 at BBC Television Centre from 1964 to 2012.
• Ahead of the 2019–20 Premier League season, BBC Sport upgraded the studio at Dock10 studios at MediaCityUK in Salford.
• The theme tune was composed by Barry Stoller in 1970 and recorded in the basement recording studio of his home with a trumpeter and a drummer.

History

The name Match of the Day originally belonged to a BBC Wimbledon tennis highlights show from June 1964, but the first football episode aired on BBC2 on 22 August 1964, featuring Liverpool versus Arsenal at Anfield. Only about 20,000 people watched, fewer than the number of fans inside the stadium. In 1965, several clubs tried to stop a new BBC deal, worried that televised highlights would reduce matchday crowds. A compromise was reached: the BBC would not announce which game it would show until after the day’s matches had finished.

After England’s 1966 World Cup win, the programme moved to BBC1 for the 1966–67 season. The first colour broadcast came on 2 November 1968 on BBC2, showing Chelsea against Manchester City; the first colour edition on BBC1 aired on 15 November 1969, with Liverpool versus West Ham United. Slow-motion replays arrived in 1969. In 1979, a new four-year deal split broadcasting rights between the BBC and ITV, after the Office of Fair Trading stepped in.

Match of the Day shifted to Sunday afternoons for the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons, then returned to Saturday nights in 1983, though four episodes were cancelled that year due to industrial action. The 1983–84 season introduced live First Division matches, starting with Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur on 16 December.

Presenters, analysts and commentators

Over the years, only five people have regularly hosted the programme: Kenneth Wolstenholme from 1964 to 1967, David Coleman from 1967 to 1973, Jimmy Hill from 1973 to 1988, Des Lynam from 1988 to 1999, and Gary Lineker from 1999 to 2025. Lineker had previously been an analyst while Lynam was in charge. In 2005, Celina Hinchcliffe became the first woman to present an episode. Lineker announced in November 2024 that he would leave the Premier League highlights show after the 2024–25 season, and the BBC confirmed in January 2025 that Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, and Gabby Logan would take over presenting duties for Match of the Day, Match of the Day 2, and Match of the Day: Champions League.

Analysts featured during the 2024–25 season include Danny Murphy, Micah Richards, and Alan Shearer, while past analysts have included Jimmy Hill, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, and Ian Wright. The programme uses a mix of BBC and freelance commentators, among them 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.

Jacqui Oatley became the first woman to commentate on the show in 2007. Earlier commentators include Walley 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, and Kenneth Wolstenholme. Barry Davies returned to commentate for the show’s 50th anniversary.

Related shows

Since 1998 the BBC's coverage of the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship has been under the Match of the Day banner. Between 1995 and 1999 the BBC broadcast Match of the Seventies (1995–96), Match of the Eighties (1997) and Match of the Nineties (1999), each acting as a chronological review of seasons through each decade, presented by Dennis Waterman, Danny Baker, Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley. From the 2004–05 season a second programme, Match of the Day 2, usually airs on the following Sunday.

From the 2009–10 season until 2015–16 the BBC held rights for Football League highlights and live games under the Match of the Day Live banner, with highlights on The Football League Show. From the 2013–14 season NBCSN has broadcast its own version also called Match of the Day. From the 2016–17 season until the 2018–19 season The Premier League Show aired on Thursday nights. From the 2019–20 season a spin-off show MOTDx was launched, focusing on celebrities, music, fashion and culture of the Premier League, presented by Jermaine Jenas alongside Chelcee Grimes, Craig Mitch and Reece Parkinson.