Week in Sportbiz: Is crypto the next big player in sports sponsorship? Plus Extreme E’s Suez near miss and Amazon’s Six Nations interest March 25, 2021 Where US sports lead, others tend to follow, so it was with interest that industry insiders noted developments in Florida this week. Miami Heat’s home is set to be rebranded the FTX Arena after the NBA side struck a naming rights agreement with the cryptocurrency exchange. FTX will pay $135m for the 19-year deal, the [...]
Anton Ferdinand: England should be barred from hosting 2030 World Cup July 13, 2021 England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday evening was marred by scores of ticketless fans trying to break into Wembley, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subjected to racist abuse on social media. Following the debacle, Anton Ferdinand said this evening he believes England should be barred from hosting another major [...]
Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Olympic chiefs offer vaccines to athletes; Israel wins French Super Cup; and Winklevoss twins return to Boat Race March 11, 2021 Olympic chiefs have eased concerns around this summer’s Games by offering Covid-19 vaccines to any athlete set to compete at Tokyo 2020. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the offer applied to athletes and teams involved in either Tokyo or the Winter Games in Beijing in February 2022. The IOC will buy the vaccines from [...]
European Super League fallout: Tottenham fans’ group calls for radical shake-up of football club ownership May 1, 2021 Club executives involved in the failed European Super League were forced to resign from advisory roles at the Premier League this week. The move was a consequence of England’s so-called ‘Big Six’ – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – agreeing to join a new breakaway competition which collapsed under the [...]
ITV shares drop despite £50m saving from Euro 2020 cancellation March 17, 2020 ITV today said the cancellation of the Euro 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak will save the broadcaster as much as £50m. Uefa this morning announced that its flagship national football competition will be pushed back by a year due to health concerns. ITV, which jointly holds the rights to the tournament alongside the BBC, [...]
Manchester City banned from Europe for two years for ‘serious breach’ of FFP February 15, 2020 Manchester City have been banned from Uefa club competitions for the next two seasons after committing “serious breaches” of financial fair play (FFP) regulations. The current Premier League champions will not be able to participate in the Champions League of Europa League in 2020-21 or 2021-22. They have also been fined 30m euros (£25m). The [...]
English football agrees to “indefinite” suspension of 2019-20 season March 19, 2020 The English football season has been extended indefinitely to give leagues every chance to play remaining matches currently on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak. Play had already been suspended at all levels until at least 4 April, but a resumption has been pushed back to 30 April at the earliest. The decision has been [...]
No one-trick pony: How Polo in the Park has brought the sport to the masses June 3, 2019 In 2009, when City workers emerged bleary-eyed and hungover from the financial crisis, partying definitely wasn’t on the priority list. But London’s sombre mood didn’t dissuade Daniel Fox-Davies, who had grand ideas about creating a massive summer social event. The entrepreneur approached his friend Rory Heron to ask if he would work with him on [...]
Euro 2020 draw explained: Everything you need to know and who each country could face November 28, 2019 This Saturday’s draw for football’s European Championships next summer will differ from those typical of major tournaments for several reasons. Firstly, at least one team has already been drawn into each of the six groups because of governing body Uefa’s desire to equally distribute the 12 tournament hosts. Remaining hosts have either been eliminated or [...]