Flagship football programme Football Focus will be axed by the BBC due to “changing audience behaviours”.
The Saturday lunchtime show will be cut at the end of the season, after 52 years on air.
The football magazine show, first broadcast in 1974, previewed the weekend’s action on a Saturday lunchtime throughout the season.
Former England international Alex Scott has presented Football Focus since replacing Dan Walker in 2021.
An incredible 52-year journey comes to an end.
Following extensive consideration, BBC Sport has made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Football Focus at the end of this season.
First broadcast in 1974, Football Focus is a testament to the brilliant team who have… pic.twitter.com/bmHQqQdf6J— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) April 23, 2026
A statement from the BBC said “difficult decisions around how the licence fee is spent” were needed, with fans “increasingly consuming football content in different ways”.
Alex Kay-Jelski - director of BBC Sport - said: "Football Focus has been a hugely important programme in the history of BBC Sport and has played a key role in telling the stories of the game for generations of viewers.
"This decision was made before last week's wider BBC savings announcement, reflecting the continued shift in how audiences engage with football and our commitment to evolving how we deliver content to reach fans wherever they are."
Who presented Football Focus?
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson served as host for 20 years after it first launched.
Former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, Steve Rider, Ray Stubbs and Manish Bhasin also presented the show through the years.
Its final host will be Alex Scott, who has presented Football Focus for the past five years and will continue to work for the BBC.
They managed to fumble the bag with such a legendary show such as Football Focus and then blame "viewing habits". https://t.co/bdOJgsVD1v
— Kasif Hanif (@kasifhanif1) April 23, 2026
"Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men's and women's game and is a big part of our present and future," added Kay-Jelski.
"She will remain at the heart of our sports output across both the men's World Cup this year and the Women's World Cup in 2027, as well as continuing her lead role on the Women's Super League and BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
"We are also working on a very exciting new project with her - more to come on that soon."
One viewer was not happy with the decision.
They took to X, formerly known as Twitter to say: "They managed to fumble the bag with such a legendary show such as Football Focus and then blame "viewing habits"."
Will you be sad to see Football Focus go? Let us know in the comments
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