Rio Ferdinand has hit out at the BBC for omitting Fara Williams from their coverage of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 final – despite the former England midfielder being the country’s most capped player.
Williams, who earned 172 caps during a glittering international career, has been a regular and respected voice on the BBC’s football output in recent years.
But she was nowhere to be seen in the corporation’s broadcast team for Sunday’s final in Basel, with host Gabby Logan joined instead by Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Nedum Onuoha.
Ferdinand, who recently stepped away from his own punditry role at TNT Sports, appeared stunned by the snub.
‘How’s @fara_williams47 not on the @BBCSport coverage’ the ex-England defender tweeted just after 4pm, under an hour before kick-off at St Jakob-Park.
Williams, 41, had earlier confirmed a new chapter in her punditry career, revealing on Saturday that she will join the TNT Sports team for the new season.
Former Lionesses star Fara Williams was not part of BBC One’s punditry panel for Sunday evening’s UEFA Women’s Euro final between England and Spain in Switzerland
The BBC panel instead featured (left to right) Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Nedum Onuoha
Quoting a video promoting the broadcaster’s extensive football rights — including for the Premier League, Champions League and Women’s FA Cup — she wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘This is NOT NORMAL’, before adding: ‘Can’t wait to be part of the @footballontnt team!’
It’s a high-profile move for the former Lioness, who featured at four major tournaments and scored 40 goals for her country.
She retired from playing in 2019 and has since established herself as one of the most insightful and eloquent voices in the game.
Ferdinand himself ended his decade-long stint with TNT Sports after May’s Champions League final.
The Manchester United legend signed off with a warm on-air farewell and said he would now focus on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast and other ventures, including his charitable foundation.
Women’s football has developed massively since Williams began her playing career.
In a recent interview with The Mirror, Williams spoke candidly about some of the challenges she faced as a young player — including a period of homelessness while representing her country.
‘Yeah, it was extremely difficult,’ she said. ‘As a kid… there were so many barriers.
Rio Ferdinand took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his astonishment at Williams’ absence
‘There were so many barriers that were different to today in terms of access, in terms of there not being enough teams out there for young females to go and play.’
‘Of course, that’s changed over time. The biggest barrier, in terms of my journey, was becoming homeless whilst playing and having that to overcome – it was difficult.’
Williams credits football with keeping her on track during that time.
She added: ‘I think football, I’ve always said, saved me… I always remembered that football was there, the football community was there.’
