''Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday'' is a weekly television programme broadcast on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

games in the United Kingdom on Saturday afternoons. The current host is

Jeff Stelling Robert Jeffrey Stelling (born 18 March 1955) is an English television presenter. He currently presents '' Gillette Soccer Saturday'' for Sky Sports and hosted coverage of the Champions League between 2011 and 2015. He also presented the Chann ...

. The programme is sponsored by Gillette Labs.

History

Soccer Saturday grew out of ''Sports Saturday'', which started in August 1992 and was hosted by

Paul Dempsey Paul Anthony Dempsey (born 25 May 1976) is an Australian musician. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist and principal lyricist of rock group Something for Kate. Dempsey released his debut solo album, '' Everything Is True'', on 20 Au ...

and

Sue Barker Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

. ''Sports Saturday'' was similar in format to the BBC's ''

Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...

'' programme featuring a variety of sports and as with ''Grandstand'', the programme finished with news of the day's football in a segment called ''Scorelines''. Current host

joined the programme in 1994 and became its sole presenter a year later. From the start of the 1998/99 season, it became a football-only programme and accordingly the name of the programme changed to ''Soccer Saturday''. Prior to May 2010, portions of the programme were simulcast on Sky Sports 1 as well as

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...

. The portions simulcast were between 12:00 and 12:30, and 15:00 and 17:15, although this differed depending on the matches being covered on Sky Sports 1. From the start of the 2010–11 season these simulcasts were dropped and for the next three seasons the programme was exclusive to Sky Sports News. The Sky Sports 1 simulcast returned for the 2013–14 season as part of Sky Sports 1's new all-day Saturday football service. For the 2014–15 season the programme moved from Sky Sports 1 to Sky Sports 5 but reverted to Sky Sports 1 for the 2016–17 season.

Format

''Soccer Saturday'' is broadcast from 12:00 on

and usually airs for six hours. The programme begins with the host and four regular in-studio pundits previewing the weekend's matches, reviewing recent results and debating current issues in football. The show is also famous for the rapport between the pundits and the presenter. There is much banter between the pundits and Jeff Stelling, who, in a good humoured manner, often points out each other's mistakes and incorrect predictions. Stelling exuberantly celebrates goals scored by his favourite team (

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

). Viewers are kept updated on the progress of early kick-offs by reporters at the games and by graphics below and to the right of the director's cut. These graphics also includes latest team news and league standings. From 15:00 to 17:15, ''Soccer Saturday'' provides running coverage of the 3 pm league matches, of which none is televised in the UK and one is televised in Ireland. The graphics display a

vidiprinter A vidiprinter is a sports scores and results ticker service provided to media organisations. A vidiprinter providing football results is used on BBC One and Sky Sports News when significant games are in progress. Since its inception, the vidipri ...

and cycle through current scores in the English and Scottish leagues, with Jeff Stelling providing commentary on the events as they unfold. Significant events at the most high-profile games – almost always in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

– are described by the studio panel who each watch a game on a monitor. Other games deemed important are reported on by correspondents at the grounds connected to the studio by a video link,

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Wo ...

or telephone. This portion of the show is also aired on

Sky Showcase Sky Showcase is a British pay television channel which launched on 1 September 2021 along with Sky Max. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a division of American media company Comcast. The channel was announced on 28 July 2021 to replace S ...

. After the 3 pm games finish, the classified football results are read by Alan Lambourn and this is followed by a run-through of the updated league tables. A commercial break then follows and this is when the vidiprinter is removed from the screen. For the final 45 minutes of the programme the studio pundits discuss the games they have been watching, and post-match interviews with players and managers are shown. The regular format occasionally changes, for example during international windows when no Premier League or Championship matches are played, the show is shortened to 14:00 and 17:30, and League 1 and 2 fixtures are then covered by the studio pundits as opposed to the usual Premier League ones. Stelling no longer presents ''Soccer Saturday'' during the international break, with duties being handed over to Julian Warren.

''Soccer Special''

A programme with the same format is also broadcast when there are a number of midweek games, such as on

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

nights, in which case it is known as ''Soccer Special''. Since 2011, ''Soccer Special'' has been hosted by Julian Warren. Between 2008 and 2011,

Ed Chamberlin Edward Alan Chamberlin (born 6 February 1974) is an English sports broadcaster who has been working for ITV since January 2017. Presenting career Chamberlin was born in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. As a boy he attended Ludgrove School, where he ...

presented the programme. He had previously shared presenting the programme with Ian Payne during the previous season. ''Soccer Special'' was hosted by Stelling until he began presenting ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' at the start of the 2005–06 season. The midweek Soccer Specials are often simulcast on Sky Sports 1. From the 2015–2016 season, Stelling started presenting Soccer Special again as Sky lost the rights to Champions League coverage to BT Sport. The ''Soccer Special'' name is also used when a full afternoon programme of football is played on a day other than Saturday, which usually only occurs on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

(unless that falls on either Friday or Sunday) and

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

as well as the last day of the Championship and the last day of the Premier League season as both are normally played on a Sunday. On these occasions the programme is usually presented by Stelling and follows the normal ''Soccer Saturday'' format.

''Sports Saturday/Sunday''

For a few years during the summer, the show was replaced with ''Sports Saturday'', which is more akin to the show's original format, concentrating on sports other than football due to the absence of competitive football during the summer. This again was presented by Ed Chamberlin. The programme did not return in 2009 or 2010, but was revived in July 2011, although it was presented by regular Sky Sports News presenters. However, in August 2010, Sky announced the launch of ''Sports Sunday''. This programme, which aired Sundays from 13:00–18:00, was similar to the old Sports Saturday format, was initially presented by Ed Chamberlain but after his promotion in early 2011 to additional football presenting duties on Sky Sports, the programme started to be presented by other presenters from the Sky Sports News roster. From 2021, Sports Sunday began to show the vidiprinter on screen throughout the programme, which by now was on air from 12:00–18:00, on which the latest British and European scores are displayed. The scores shown also include the Women's Super League and the Women's Championship.

Presenters and reporters

*Presenter:

* Relief/Soccer Special Presenter:

Julian Warren Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (giv ...

and Nick Powell *Lead Studio Pundit:

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...

*Additional Studio Pundits:

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

Alan McInally Alan Bruce McInally (born 10 February 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played for Ayr United, Celtic, Aston Villa, Bayern Munich and Kilmarnock. Ayr-born McInally variously went by the nicknames of Rambo and Big Mac an ...

, Michael Dawson, Matt Murray,

Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...

Jamie Mackie James Charles Mackie (born 22 September 1985) is a British former professional footballer who played as a striker or winger, most notably for Queens Park Rangers, Plymouth Argyle, and Oxford United. Born in England, Mackie played for Scotland. ...

, Lee Hendrie,

Clinton Morrison Clinton Hubert Morrison (''né'' Chambers; born 14 May 1979) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Since his retirement from playing he works as a pundit. Morrison began his career at local side Crystal Palace in 1998, f ...

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in Januar ...

and

Sue Smith Sue Smith may refer to: * Sue Smith (politician) (born 1951), member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council *Sue Smith (footballer) (born 1979), English footballer *Sue Smith (trainer) (born 1948), British horse trainer *Sue Smith (writer) Sue Smi ...

*Reporters: Bianca Westwood, David Craig, Guy Havord, Dickie Davis, Rob Palmer, Johnny Phillips,

Neil Mellor Neil Andrew Mellor (born 4 November 1982) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career at Liverpool in the Premier League. He made his name in 2004 by scoring a stunning last-minute goal from long r ...

, Peter Smith, Peter Stevenson, Stuart Jarrold, Simon Watts, Tony Colliver, Jonathan Beales,

Rob McCaffrey Robert Andrew McCaffrey, 1963) is a British television presenter. He is most notable for presenting shows such as ''Goals On Sunday'' and ''You're On Sky Sports''. McCaffrey also replaced Jeff Stelling as presenter of ''Soccer Special'' (the midwe ...

, Steve Jackson, Mike Jones, Russ Taylor, Mark Benstead, Mark McAdam, Frank Gilfeather, Andy Walker, Stuart Lovell, Davie Donaldson, Dave Bracegirdle and John Temple *Former Reporters: John Gwynne, Bob Hall,

Chris Kamara Christopher Kamara (born 25 December 1957) is an English former professional football player and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports from 1992 to 2022. As a player, he was known as a tough-tackling midfielder. H ...

Rodney Marsh Rodney William Marsh (born 11 October 1944) is an English former footballer and football coach; he later worked as a broadcaster. A forward, he won nine caps for England between 1971 and 1973, scoring one international goal. Brought up in the ...

was a regular pundit, known for his outspoken views, until being sacked by Sky Sports in early 2005 after a joke referencing the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

was also a regular until leaving in 2004 to fight alcohol problems. In August 2020, regular studio pundits

Matt Le Tissier Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team. Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to non ...

Phil Thompson Philip Bernard Thompson (born 21 January 1954) is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and ...

and

Charlie Nicholas Charles Nicholas (born 30 December 1961) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A striker, Nicholas is best known for his spells at Celtic and Arsenal. He won 20 international caps for Scotland, including playing at the 1986 FIFA World C ...

were controversially sacked from the programme. Other former studio analysts include

Frank McLintock Francis McLintock MBE (born 28 December 1939) is a former Scotland international footballer, football manager and businessman. He also worked as a sports agent and football pundit in his later life. He began his career in Scottish Junior footba ...

Alan Brazil Alan Bernard Brazil (born 15 June 1959) is a Scottish broadcaster and former football player, most notably for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and internationally for Scotland. He played as a forward before being forced to r ...

Alan Mullery Alan Patrick Mullery (born 23 November 1941) is an English former footballer and manager. After enjoying a successful career with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national team in the 1960s and 1970s, he became a manager working with ...

Clive Allen Clive Darren Allen (born 20 May 1961) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career ...

, and

Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland. Playing career Club McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...

. On 30 October 2021, Stelling announced his intention to leave ''Soccer Saturday'' at the end of the 2021–22 season. However, on 28 March 2022,

announced that Stelling would be staying until at least the end of the 2022–23 season. In April 2022, it was announced that Chris Kamara would leave Soccer Saturday at the end of the 2021–22 season after working on the programme for 24 years.

In popular culture

In the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

series ''

Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NB ...

'', character Roy Kent serves as a pundit on the show alongside Stelling and Kamara.

History

Format

''Soccer Special''

''Sports Saturday/Sunday''

Presenters and reporters

In popular culture

See also

References

External links