THE BBC will not pay for pundits to work on rival podcasts during the World Cup this summer, according to reports. The broadcaster will have a key role during the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada and will soon begin assemble its team of pundits. That will cause complications for BBC pundits who wish to work on Gary Lineker‘s The Rest of Football podcast, which will shoot in New York this summer. Lineker’s media company Goalhanger announced a deal with Netflix to air The Rest is Football during this year’s World Cup, said to be worth around £14million. He said: “We can’t wait to bring The Rest Is Football to Netflix for the 2026 World Cup.

Source: BBC January 30, 2026 13:50 UTC