BBC launches reality show for influencers to find its next football expert

Venture is spearheaded by BBC Creator Lab, searching for talent able to produce content for ‘Gen Z, Alpha and millennial audiences’

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The BBC is launching a reality show to find a new football expert using TikTok in its latest attempt to attract a younger audience.
Announced on Wednesday, the day after the BBC confirmed Gary Lineker’s Match of the Day exit, the show will be broadcast on iPlayer in the lead-up to next summer’s Women’s European Championship.
The BBC said the winner would be offered a paid role producing digital content for BBC Sport and appearing on TV, radio, digital and social on programmes such as Football Focus, and on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The show is the latest venture spearheaded by BBC Creator Lab, launched last year to find talent able to produce content “that would appeal to Gen Z, Alpha and millennial audiences”.
It will team up with TikTok, which the BBC said would promote and discover potential contenders’s efforts, along with providing upskilling and training.
A web page created for the scheme says: “We are looking for talented football obsessives who are as comfortable explaining the latest tactical innovations to fan culture to interviewing top players.
“All shortlisted candidates will have an on-screen opportunity as well as receiving training and up-skilling as part of the scheme.
“After completion of the series, the competition winner will be also offered a paid opportunity as a BBC Sport contributor.
“The window for applications will open in December 2024 and full details will be available on this page in the coming weeks.”
Fiona Campbell, BBC controller of youth audience, said: “This is our biggest creator opportunity to date. A chance to work with the BBC’s top sport team and appear on some of the country’s biggest football shows as well as to appear on Radio 1 and a digital series.
“We cannot wait to uncover and collaborate with the most exciting football creators in the UK.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “There can’t be many better jobs than working with the BBC’s football team, so if you think you know the game better than anyone, get applying. This could change your life.”
Melissa McFarlane, TikTok’s UK head of operations, added: “Football fandom is a vast and vibrant community on TikTok, and we can’t wait to see how a new wave of creators will bring fresh perspectives to the beautiful game.”
Last year’s Creator Lab enabled 90 social and digital creators from across the UK to take part in two-day, in-person development programmes.
The first year of the initiative focused on content areas that included UK nature, cooking and mixology, entertainment, children’s content, football and sport.
Lineker’s impending departure from his £1.35 million presenting role has been seen as part of a strategy to attract younger audiences to the BBC under new director of sport Kay-Jelski.
It follows questionable attempts to use established social media influencers as part of the corporation’s football coverage.
That included on the doomed Match of the Day spin-off MotDx, which was axed last year after four years.
Its host, Jermaine Jenas, was also sacked by the BBC in August following complaints about messages he had sent to a female colleague.
Brent Di Cesare, known as Mark Goldbridge, runs four football YouTube channels and became popular for reaction videos to Manchester United results. He has since hosted shows on Talksport.
The American, known simply as Speed (real name Darren Jason Watkins Jnr) gained a huge following through streaming video games on YouTube before shifting towards football-related content centred around Cristiano Ronaldo.
A former BBC radio reggae host, Lyle is the founder of Arsenal Fan TV which launched in 2012 and became one of football’s first fan-run channels with regular post-match interviews after matches.
Ferreria, 23, became a Brazilian internet sensation and broke records for content focused on football in the Americas with amateur skills videos. Alongside Speed, Ferreira was invited to attend the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
The Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist rose to influencer-status with his freestyle skills videos which clocked up to 2.8 billion views. He now creates TikTok-focussed football content and features on various YouTube channels.
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