Gabby Logan was taken aback as she conversed with fellow BBC broadcaster Mark Chapman on their podcast
Gabby Logan was stunned to discover that fellow broadcaster and podcast co-host Mark Chapman will not be covering the World Cup 2026 final.
Logan will front the BBC’s coverage of the showpiece event, becoming the first woman to do so. Both she and Chapman are British sports broadcasting royalty with a combined 60-plus years of television experience.
When Gary Lineker stepped away from hosting the BBC staple Match of the Day last year, the pair, alongside Kelly Cates, were named as his successors. At the World Cup, the trio have been passing the baton around when it comes to covering the competition for the BBC from their base in Salford.
Chapman, who continues as the lead host of 5 Live Sport on the radio, works across both formats. Logan will be on her lonesome when the final rolls around, with Cates in the United States covering the game live from the stadium for radio, and Chapman at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
However, Logan wasn’t quite aware of these arrangements. Both Chapman and Logan have hosted The Sports Agents podcast together since 2024 and during the latest episode, they touched on the topic of the final.
After England’s convincing 4-2 win over Croatia, the duo, who admitted they got ahead of themselves, discussed their plans for the final with the possibility of the Three Lions reaching it. Logan asked on the pod: “Are you already kind of working out where you’re going to watch the World Cup final? Because you’re working on it, aren’t you?”
Chapman replied: “No, I’m not. No, I’m not,” which took his co-host off guard. She then questioned: “Are you doing radio?” To which Chapman revealed: “No, I’ll be at the golf.”
Logan muttered an, “Oh, God,” before Chapman continued: “I’m doing The Open golf that weekend, and then I will drive back from The Open golf listening to Kelly and the build-up on the radio and then I’ll catch some of you on the telly.”
Whilst the BBC lost the rights to broadcast The Open in 2016, Radio 5 Live still retains the rights to broadcast full, ball-by-ball radio coverage, and so Chapman will head to Southport next month to lead this.
The major championship was first shown on the BBC in 1955 and it found a home on its TV channels for 60 consecutive years before Sky Sports took over a decade ago.
Continuing their conversation, Logan added: “You’re going to be at the golf? My gosh. That could be an extraordinary day, couldn’t it? I think they might change their tee-off times if England are in a World Cup final.”
Chapman replied: “They could bring it forward a bit. Normally, it finishes between 6pm and 7pm. I would imagine if England or Scotland are in the final, they may want it to finish between 5pm and 6pm.”
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login