Kelly Cates excited by new opportunities as Match of the Day job looms

The Sky Sports broadcaster is reportedly set to become presenter of BBC's Match of the Day when Gary Lineker steps away at the end of the season. 

Kelly Cates in attendance at Croke Park in Dublin, to mark the launch of the 2025 Lidl Ladies National Football Leagues. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

"Everybody seems to know more than I do," Kelly Cates said with a smile on Tuesday morning when put to her that there could be an exciting career opportunity ahead.

The Sky Sports broadcaster is reportedly set to become the new presenter of BBC's Match of the Day when Gary Lineker departs at the conclusion of the Premier League season. Cates was in attendance at the launch of the Lidl Ladies National Football Leagues at Croke Park on Tuesday as part of a panel, along with former English rugby player Maggie Alphonsi and host Marie Crowe, to discuss the challenge of increasing the visibility of female players.

"If I were to take on any new opportunities..." said Cates, talking between the lines.

"You do get to a stage where you're excited by new opportunities, rather than intimidated by them. In anything new that you do, there should be nerves. I say that to my kids all the time, 'It's not nerves, it's excitement. They feel the same in your body, but if you change your mindset, you can deal with it a lot better'.

"There can also be a kind of confidence, and a sort of belief in yourself, which doesn't mean, 'oh no, I'm going to do brilliantly at this'. It's like, 'I know I can do it, if I apply myself properly, and kind of pursue it'."

Cates, daughter of Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish, has been with Sky Sports since 1998. She has presented their Premier League coverage since 2017, working alongside Roy Keane.

"I remember when I first went in to work with him and thinking, 'what's he going to be like?'" she said of Keane.

"I was talking about how my online delivery had been late and the kids were texting me because they wanted more time on their phone.

"Within five minutes, Roy was talking about reading his grandkids' bedtime stories. If a guy goes in, they don't bring real life into the broadcast environment, I don't think. If a woman does, you kind of tend to bring your whole life with you. That gives them permission to be a much more rounded version of themselves. And you get the real them, if you can talk to them about their real life as well as their broadcast life."