Tony Livesey is to front a new Monday night Football League show that will give fans across the North West unparalleled access to their teams.
Late Kick Off will feature in-depth coverage behind-the-scenes, the teams, players, managers and the backroom stories of all 11 teams across the region from Stockport County to Accrington Stanley and the Silkmen to Tranmere Rovers. The show, which starts tonight on BBC One North West at 11.35pm, will get right to the heart of local football with a mix of discussion, opinion, interviews and match analysis.
More than just a highlights programme, it promises to get to grips with the issues fans want to talk about as well as giving some insightful reports both on and off the pitch.
Tony, a well known face on the regional nightly news programme North West Tonight, will bring his own sporting expertise to the show. He was a regular pundit on BBC One's Inside Sport and in the New Year began presenting BBC Radio 5 Live's late-night programme digesting and debating the issues of the day (Monday to Thursday, 10.30pm-1.00am).
He will be joined each week on Late Kick Off by different guests and pundits from the world of football to talk about the weekend's biggest games. There will also be regular features such as Forgotten Heroes and unique archive footage recounting some unforgettable moments from the past.
Morecambe manager, Sammy McIlroy, will join Tony for the first programme giving up-to-date news on all that is happening with the Football League as well as featuring rare pre-war footage of Stockport County, never before seen on TV.
Fans won't have to miss a thing as the programmes will also be on BBC iPlayer.
Tony says: "I'm absolutely delighted to have been asked to present Late Kick Off. It's always exciting to be part of something that is completely new and it's good news for Football League fans who'll get to see more of their local teams on television but in a way they may not have seen before.
"They'll get to see the goal action but we'll also examine stories and issues of the day from a different perspective, providing high quality sports journalism and comment and analysis from the region's experts."
Late Kick Off complements coverage of the Football League - which returned to the BBC in August for the first time since 1988 - building on the success of the network highlights programme, The Football League Show, along with live coverage of two League Cup semi finals and the League Cup final.
Along with action from the Premier League on Match Of The Day and BBC Radio 5 Live, the BBC provides sports fans with access to all the goals and all the action, the length and breadth of the country.
