Soccer AM presenter John Fendley has hailed the “wonderful memories” of the programme after its Sky axe was confirmed.
The long-running cult football programme is set to be taken off screens come the end of the season with only a couple of episodes remaining to air. Previous reports had suggested that Sky were considering scrapping Soccer AM amid a reorganisation of the channel - and that has now been announced.
A Sky statement said: "Following a thorough consultation process, Sky can confirm that the final live broadcast of Soccer AM will be on Saturday 27 May – the final weekend of the football season. Soccer AM has been hugely popular with audiences over almost three decades, engaged hundreds of celebrity guests and musical acts all brought together by a shared love of football."
Sky Sports Managing Director Jonathan Licht added: “We’d like to thank the Soccer AM team for their professionalism during a difficult period. We would also like to thank them, and all their former colleagues, for their contribution to Sky Sports over three amazing decades.”
The decision to take the programme off-air has now been confirmed with Fendley - affectionately known as Fenners - issuing his immediate response via an emotional Instagram post.
It read: “All good things come to an end, and today I can confirm that our show on May 27th will be the final episode of Soccer AM. The show has been a huge part of my life since 1996 and I will take away so many wonderful memories.
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“Huge thanks to the current team and to everyone I have had the pleasure of working alongside over the last 20 years. Hopefully the next 20 will be as much fun. Thanks for all your support. X”
Fendley currently hosts Soccer AM alongside former Premier League star Jimmy Bullard. The former took the reins in 2015 before being joined by the ex-Hull and Wigan man two years later.
The pair have hosted the show ever since with its run time reducing drastically since its peak. During its original run, it was originally broadcast for a total of four hours on Saturday mornings but that has been reduced to just 90 minutes since 2016.
Bullard has previously hailed Fendley for his help after initially joining the programme but has noted how testing it is to keep the show relevant. Speaking to Mirror Football, he said: "I was like a rabbit in headlights at the start!
"Obviously it wasn't my profession but that just goes to show how good Fenners is. He helps me out a lot and I just bounce around him! I would say I'm a bit more off-the-cuff than him.
“But it works nice and I think the chemistry between us both just works well. For the show to last more than 25 years is phenomenal really."
