Alex Horsburgh

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 worked on it over the years and, of course, the audience. 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 we need to respond appropriately as we face difficult decisions 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, it is right that BBC Sport adapts 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.

Sometimes maybe good sometimes maybe shit

One Barcelona fan had an absolute nightmare last night. He turned up at St James’ Park expecting to see his team take on Newcastle, but he’d travelled to the wrong St James’ Park, Exeter City’s ground… 😭🫣 The staff at Exeter sorted him out with a ticket to their game against Lincoln, so he was able to watch a game. Adam Spencer, Supporter Experience Officer at Exeter City, said: “One of our volunteers came to the office to let us know that this guy had turned up expecting to see FC Barcelona. His English wasn’t great, but from what we could gather, he’d come from London. My guess is he’d put St James Park in his phone and then just followed the directions from there. “He was pretty gutted and a bit embarrassed. So, we sorted him out a ticket and he got to watch a game at the real St James Park. He’d be welcome back any time.” You have to feel for him, but good on Exeter for being so accommodating! 👏