Alex Scott has left her role as part of Disney+’s Women’s Champions League coverage just weeks after the launch of her new show ‘The Hangout’ was widely criticised by fans.
The former Football Focus presenter had worked with the streaming service since they were awarded the rights to Europe’s flagship competition in 2025, but Scott has now stepped away with a view to focusing on other projects.
In a statement released by Disney+ and shared with the Guardian, the broadcaster thanked Scott and wished her ‘every success’, adding: ‘Her passion for the women’s game and the competition shone through throughout her time with us, and we are grateful for all she contributed.’
Scott leaves the streaming service shortly after the debut of a new Match of the Day-style programme launched for the competition which was mocked for its chaotic launch episode.
She fronted the programme alongside fellow former professional Lianne Sanderson, and influencers Tyra Mills and Alex Bailess.
A move to appeal to Gen Z viewers seems to have been made, with football at times seeming peripheral to discussions, and an influencer dog named Barley was also introduced, with the animal asked to pick the winner of the Champions League through food.
Alex Scott has left Disney+’s coverage of the Women’s Champions League just one season on from the broadcaster winning the rights
Scott celebrated her birthday on Wednesday evening, the day before the announced, with her partner musician Jess Glynne (Source: Instagram/Alex Scott)
The show featured a ‘watch party’ with Dutch twins Sanne and Merel van Dongen, with Sanne a former basketball player and Merel a footballer.
Fans were left in disbelief at what was unfolding on social media, with one writing: ‘Disney said they were a brand and ran with it. They thought a revolving sofa and dog would keep the attention of the girls whilst watching the football and stuck an ad mid game because no one’s really watching. You get comments about how empty the stadiums are but how are we growing the game if it’s still being dressed up with a pink bow on the top?
‘Then bored men with no club football will s**g it off because some football account is making fun of it.
‘If we like women’s football, we like it for the game, for the players, for their skill, our clubs. JUST like you would for a men’s game. Disney, the fans of women’s football do not need cute, we’d love impartial analysis, post-match interviews with the team that’s played and less dog.’
Another added: ‘Sorry the dog in the Disney studio for the UWCL coverage is finishing me like am I watching the coverage for the football or Crufts?’
There was no explanation for why Barley was on the show, though his 137,000 Instagram followers were mentioned.
Disney’s production levels were criticised elsewhere on match day, with the broadcaster coming in for further criticism when it cut to an unscheduled advert break in the middle of Arsenal’s clash with HB Koge.
Scott is believed to be set to be focusing on her other commitments including her recently launched WSL show, One More Word WSL.
The presented waved goodbye to her role on Football Focus with the end of the programme after 52 years on air at the end of last season.
The long-running Saturday programme was the victim of BBC cuts amid a decline of viewing figures in recent years.
Scott was left in tears after being overcome with emotion during the final episode, with returning presenter Garth Crooks gifting her a photo of her and the programme’s first host Bob Wilson.
‘That’s got me,’ she said as she looked at her present which had: ‘Alex, congratulations for all you have achieved’, written on it.
She later added: ‘Thank you Garth for being here today. For 52 years, wow, this show has done one thing. Week in week out, it has brought football into your Saturday afternoons whether it was Bob Wilson in 1974 or any of the brilliant presenters that sat in this chair after him, the thing that never changed was you, the fans.’
