BBC blows final whistle on Football Focus as show scrapped after 52 years

The BBC has announced it is cancelling Football Focus after 52 years, with the show set to end at the close of this season. The Saturday lunchtime programme, which first aired in 1974, has been a long-standing fixture of the BBC's football coverage. The broadcaster cited a significant audience decline driven by viewers shifting to digital platforms, alongside pressures related to licence fee funding.