BBC insists it WILL have commentators at the 2026 World Cup through whole tournament despite 'work from home' report

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Evening Standard

·3 December 2025

BBC insists it WILL have commentators at the 2026 World Cup through whole tournament despite 'work from home' report

Spokesperson tells the Standard the BBC will be commentating on site throughout next summer’s tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico

The BBC has denied a report it will not send TV pundits and commentators to North America for the 2026 World Cup until the quarter-final stage.

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Daily Mail Sport reported that the BBC would cover matches remotely from its Salford base, suggesting the broadcaster would not have its own studio at the tournament.

When approached by The Standard, the BBC said: “The claim that we won't be commentating from the US until the quarters is not true.”

They confirmed the BBC will be commentating on site throughout the tournament.

A spokesman for the service said: “The BBC is committed to a world-class sports offer across TV, radio and online, and we are focused on delivering more value to audiences.

“This includes transforming our digital offer to meet audiences where they are in this competitive media landscape.

“Change is essential as we continue to deliver value to all, and we’re communicating openly to staff to ensure teams are informed and supported throughout.”

In its report, Daily Mail Sport said “sources believe the quarter-finals are the plan, although some have raised the prospect of no travelling TV pundits until the semi-finals”.

It suggested the cost of covering the tournament across three countries, and one which features 48 nations instead of 32, partly informed the decision.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We serve all audiences through our comprehensive, multi-platform football offer.

“Fans are covered across Match of the Day’s Premier League and Champions League highlights, our podcasts such as The Wayne Rooney Show, our extensive digital and social platforms, live text coverage, the BBC Sport website and our radio output.

“We provide commentaries every week on teams across the entire football pyramid, with dedicated pages for those clubs on our website. We deliver more coverage of more teams and more sports than any other media company in the world.”

The World Cup draw will start at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center at 5pm UK time on Friday.

For the first time ever, 48 teams will compete in next summer’s tournament making it the biggest World Cup draw in history.

As it stands, 42 teams have qualified including tournament debutants Jordan, Cape Verde, Uzbekistan and Curacao while Norway and Scotland are back for first time since 1998.

On Friday, England and Scotland will eagerly await news on who their opponents will be in North America.

Much like for European and domestic cup draws, all 48 teams have been divided into four pots of 12 and one team from each will make up the 12 groups at the 2026 World Cup.

Pot 1 consists of the three host nations - USA, Mexico and Canada along with the top nine teams in the world according to their FIFA men’s ranking for November.

Teams taking part in the second round play-off have automatically been assigned to Pot 4, where each matchup has been assigned a position in the draw to avoid confusion.

There are complicated rules over who can play each other and when.

Two is the maximum number of European teams that can be paired together in the same group, while teams from Africa, Asia and the Americas can't have another team from their confederation in their group.

United States, Canada and Mexico will host 104 matches in 16 cities across five weeks. The 2026 World Cup group stage runs from June 11 - with Mexico playing the opening game - until June 27.

This article is being updated...