The BBC has spiced up its coverage of the sporting summer by signing Wayne Rooney as a pundit for Euro 2024, as well as Nick Kyrgios for Wimbledon and Laura Kenny for the Paris Olympic Games.
Rooney will be joined in Germany by his former England teammates Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Hart – as well as Cesc Fàbregas, David Moyes and the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank.
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ITV, meanwhile, has announced the Tottenham manager, Ange Postecoglou, will be part of a team of pundits including Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Graeme Souness in Germany next month.
The BBC also confirmed Kyrgios would be joining its Wimbledon commentary team, assuming he does not return to play after knee and wrist injuries that have limited him to one match in 18 months.
The 29-year-old, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2022 final, impressed as a co-commentator for Eurosport during the Australian Open with his knowledge and willingness to call things as he saw them. However, he has also made headlines for the wrong reasons and last year avoided a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to shoving an ex-girlfriend.
Speaking in central London, the BBC’s chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, joked that no one was sure what to expect from Kyrgios.
“A host of Wimbledon champions will be joining us in the studio, including John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash, alongside Tim Henman, Tracy Austin, Annabel Croft and Johanna Konta,” she said. “And also joining the lineup this year will be 2021 champion Ash Barty and, if he’s not playing, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios – anything could happen there.”
Moore said the BBC’s TV coverage of the Olympics will run every day from 8am to 10pm, before an evening highlights show. She added that Britain’s most successful female Olympian, Kenny, and the long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, who misses Paris with an achilles injury, would join the BBC’s long standing team of pundits, which includes Michael Johnson, Sir Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis-Hill and others.
“It’s an amazing lineup,” Moore added. “And I think audiences are going to be left in no doubt at all that the BBC is the place to be for every sports fan within the UK.”
