The BBC’s decision to axe Football Focus is ‘crazy’, according to a former presenter of the long-running show.
Bob Wilson hosted the programme for two decades from 1974 to 1994 and is shocked and saddened to see what he regards as an institution scrapped after 52 years.
Declining viewing figures and widespread criticism that the current iteration of Football Focus is ‘pedestrian, vacuous, uninspiring and uninformative’ under host Alex Scott has seen the BBC make the decision to replace it from next season.
Wilson was scathing about the decision, writing in the Times: ‘It has run successfully for 52 years, so goodness me, why are they getting rid of it?
‘I have always watched the show when possible and loved the fact that it was being enjoyed by the next generation. Now that I’m 84, it was a huge part of not only my life but also that of many football supporters. It’s sad news.
‘I am really disappointed it has come to this. The BBC has said it will be replaced next season by an interview show about what makes footballers tick. That is crazy.
The BBC announced on Thursday that Football Focus would be coming to an end after 52 years
Bob Wilson, who presented the show for two decades, says it is a ‘crazy’ decision
‘People want to be told about the big games of the weekend, the issues, the news of the week, discussion, covering a range of clubs and personalities.’
Wilson played 310 times in goal for Arsenal before transitioning to broadcasting when he retired.
He presented Football Focus while still working as a coach for the Gunners and had high-profile interviews with the likes of Gary Lineker and Sir Alex Ferguson, while also facing challenges such as navigating his way through the unfolding Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.
The decision to axe the show was announced on Thursday afternoon and the sentiment online appeared to disagree with Wilson’s view.
One posted on X: ‘Good – it’s been an awful woke joke for years. #defundtheBBC’
Another wrote: ‘Go woke, go broke!’
Fans on social media appear to see the cancellation as a good thing and the show had come in for plenty of criticism in recent years.
Writing in the Daily Mail in March 2024, Simon Jordan added that the show had become ‘too smug, comfortable and pally-pally’ as debate raged over why a gay West Brom supporter had been invited on to talk about his sexuality.
Former pundit and BBC regular Mark Lawrenson, meanwhile, has argued that the channel is ‘top of the woke league’ following a rebrand that saw him lose his job.
Fans have been split on Scott’s role since she took over from Dan Walker in 2021, with one writing on social media following Thursday’s news that she was ‘the death knell’ of the show.
Football Focus has seen viewership decline and come in for plenty of criticism
BBC Sport chief Alex Kay-Jelski, however, has been quick to defend the former England women’s footballer. Announcing the end of the show in a statement on Thursday, he said 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’.
Scott has insisted she was going to leave Football Focus had the BBC not scrapped the iconic football show as she broke her silence with an Instagram statement on Thursday.
‘I always knew this would be my last season on the show, which the BBC were aware of too’, she wrote.
‘My intention was to move quietly into the next chapter, but sometimes things change.
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‘When this show began all those years ago, social media wasn’t a driving force, podcasts didn’t exist, and there was no instant access to information in the way there is today. Now, by the time we go on air, the reality is you’ve already seen it, debated it, and lived it across so many platforms. That shift has changed the whole industry. TV audiences have been declining for years, while digital and on-demand viewing continues to grow.’
Scott’s predecessor, Dan Walker, hit out at the news with a thinly-veiled dig at his former employer.
‘Really sad to hear about the end of Football Focus,’ he tweeted. ‘I loved that show growing up. I used to watch it every week with my dad and I remember how proud he was when I got the job.
‘It was such a privilege to sit in the chair for 12 years, work with an amazing team on and off air and form so many lasting friendships. Saturdays were always special.
‘The football landscape is constantly changing and it’s disappointing that there isn’t space for a show that has meant so much to so many people for so many years.’
Pre-Covid pandemic viewing figures averaged 957,000 for Football Focus, and reached 1.12 million during the 2020-21 season. In the 2022-23 campaign, though, numbers were as low as 687,000.
Last week the BBC announced that it would cut up to 2,000 jobs in a bid to save money in what will be its biggest downsize in 15 years.
Staff were informed of the cuts on Wednesday last week, with around 10 per cent of employees to lose their jobs.
