FOOTBALL FOCUS AXED BY BBC AFTER MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS ON AIR

Following extensive consideration, BBC Sport has decided to say goodbye to Football Focus at the end of this season First broadcast in 1974, Football Focus is a testament to the brilliant teams who have worked on it over the years and, of course, the audience.

The BBC said: "The programme has been a staple of the BBC’s football coverage for decades, providing fans with interviews, analysis and stories from across the game ahead of the weekend’s fixtures. But changing audience behaviours mean fans are now increasingly consuming football content in different ways and it is appropriate to respond to this as difficult decisions are made around how the licence fee is spent.

Fans are accessing discussion, highlights, analysis and news through digital platforms and on-demand viewing and as viewing habits continue to evolve, BBC Sport is adapting how it brings football coverage to the widest audiences across television, radio, online and to its extensive social platforms.

BBC Sport boasts a strong football rights portfolio and is set to significantly expand its digital output this year growing content across BBC platforms, as well as a bold new slate of exclusive shows on YouTube. Featuring fresh formats, big personalities and more frequent, always-on content tailored for digital audiences, the expansion will bring fans closer to the game than ever before delivering more high-quality, accessible and engaging football coverage at scale. We will release further details on these plans in the coming months."

Football Focus is currently fronted by the brilliant Alex Scott, who will remain at the heart of BBC Sport’s football coverage and biggest sporting moments. Alex will play a key role across this year's FIFA World Cup, the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and BBC Sport’s ongoing coverage of the Women’s Super League. She will also once again serve as one of this year’s hosts of the BBC Sport Personality of the Year Awards, with more new and exciting projects with Alex due to be announced in the coming months.

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.

Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future. 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 Sport Personality of the Year. We are also working on a very exciting new project with her – more to come on that soon”.

From next season, The Football Interview will move to Saturday at 12.45pm on BBC One, where the biggest names in the game open up about what makes them tick. This season has already seen some of football’s most talked‑about stars revealing their secrets to Kelly Somers, including Bukayo Saka, Emma Hayes, Bernardo Silva, Hugo Ekitike and Michael Carrick.

Final Score with Jason Mohammad will start earlier on BBC One at 3.45pm, bringing fans all the goals, drama and decisive moments as reporters and a team of expert analysts break down every twist and turn from the afternoon’s matches. Both programmes will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.