BBC causes a stir with decision to hire a football TACTICS correspondent as part of major shake up by new director

The BBC‘s plans to hire a ‘Football Correspondent (Tactics)’ have raised eyebrows within the department and beyond.

As reported last week, 27 roles are going and 27 fresh roles are being created as part of a reshaping led by director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski.

The changes, which will see redundancies among sports news presenters and correspondents, were relayed to staff 24 hours before a meeting at Gary Neville‘s Hotel Football, during which the future direction of travel was outlined.

At that meeting, attended by almost all the broadcaster’s pundits, Alan Shearer spoke of the need for experts to provide accurate analysis which they can back up.

‘What’s the point of having all these people who have played the game at the highest level to then bring in a journalist who will presumably never have kicked a ball professionally to spout off about how the likes of Pep Guardiola should be setting up their teams?’ asked one puzzled staffer.

NEW BOSS: BBC Sport’s drastic reshaping is being led by director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski

At a recent meeting, Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer spoke of the need for experts to provide accurate analysis which they can back up

The wider restructuring of BBC Sport, set to take effect this summer, includes a shift in focus toward digital content and a reduction in traditional TV-based sports news coverage.

As part of the changes, long-running news programme Sportsday is being axed, with a series of presenting roles also set to be eliminated. An insider described the overhaul as a move that will ‘effectively kill sports news on television’.

BBC bosses argue that these steps will help grow the broadcaster’s audience by placing more emphasis on reactive stories via streaming platforms and original journalism.

While some see the addition of a tactics correspondent as part of this modernisation, others remain sceptical about the need for such a role when high-profile former players are already providing analysis.

The decision forms part of a broader strategy to revamp sports coverage across the BBC. The number of sports bulletins on the BBC News channel is set to be drastically reduced, with just one scheduled at 1.30pm and another at 11.45pm.

Meanwhile, flagship news programmes such as the BBC’s News at 6 and 10 will no longer cross to BBC Sport at MediaCity for updates at weekends. The BBC Breakfast show, however, will continue to feature a dedicated sports presenter.