Football needs spending caps, open auctions for players and fairer distribution of revenues or an increasingly narrow group of clubs will prosper July 21, 2019 As memories of a tumultuous 2018-19 season fade, it is tempting to believe all is well with the beautiful game. Scratch the surface, though, and it is apparent that football faces formidable challenges as market forces tighten their grip on its evolution. From the growing influence of a small number of global super clubs to [...]
England v Norway: Lionesses have injury problems for World Cup quarter-final June 26, 2019 Phil Neville might not have acknowledged it but England go into their World Cup quarter-final against Norway tomorrow evening with a problem. Centre-backs Steph Houghton and Millie Bright are both “major doubts” to play in Le Havre, while right-back Lucy Bronze is also a worry. Houghton is battling against an ankle injury picked up in [...]
Stagecoach profits rise despite UK rail franchise loss June 26, 2019 Stagecoach has ruled out future bids for UK rail franchises today once its current operations finish in November. The transport giant also revealed higher profits for the year to the end of April despite its train business facing an uncertain future. The figures Stagecoach’s profit before tax rose 23 per cent year on year to [...]
Our cup runneth over: Five reasons why the FA Cup has been a treat this season February 17, 2019 If unpredictability is at the heart of the FA Cup’s appeal then there is much to love about how this season’s competition is unfolding and the composition of the last eight. For the first time in five years – and only the second time in a decade – there will be just two teams from [...]
New Year’s honours 2019: British sporting heroes recognised in awards December 29, 2018 England football manager Gareth Southgate, model Twiggy and actor Michael Palin are among those that have been recognised in the New Year’s honours list. Southgate, who led the the English team to the semi-final of the World Cup this year, has received an OBE, while Palin, who appeared in Monty Python, received a knighthood and [...]
Manchester City and Amazon: Why online video platforms want more sports documentaries November 12, 2017 Sports industry chatter has been dominated in recent times by the ever-looming prospect of tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook or YouTube outbidding traditional broadcasters for live rights and, in doing so, upending the consumption habits of fans. Yet while developments have undoubtedly been made in the digitalisation of live sport, neither Sky nor BT’s [...]
Premier League scheduling does not favour English clubs in Europe, but whose fault is it? March 5, 2019 It is just as well that Tottenham take a three-goal advantage into tonight’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, given their testing week in the lead-up to the last 16 second-leg match. While Spurs battle fatigue following hard-fought games against Burnley, Chelsea and Arsenal, Dortmund come into the fixture having had four days’ recovery. Such is [...]
World’s richest clubs 2018: Arsenal overtake Paris Saint-Germain to take sixth place as Manchester United top Deloitte Football Money League January 23, 2018 Arsenal have overtaken Paris Saint-Germain as the sixth richest club in the world, according to the latest edition of Deloitte’s Football Money League. The Gunners’ revenue for last season of £419.0m (€487.6m) made them the third highest-placed English team in the annual list, published today, behind only Manchester United and Manchester City. The north Londoners [...]
Wayne Rooney arrested in US for public intoxication and swearing January 6, 2019 Former England football captain Wayne Rooney was arrested before Christmas for "public intoxication and swearing", court filings revealed this evening. Rooney, who now plays for Major League Soccer's DC United, was arrested in Virginia on 16 December. A spokesman for Loudoun County Sheriff's Office confirmed Rooney was taken into custody "on a charge of public [...]
London Stansted is the UK’s worst airport for flight delays May 28, 2019 Flights departing from UK airports were subject to delays of an average of 16 minutes last year, with London Stansted airport topping the list. Read more: Heathrow Airport sees April passenger numbers soar to 6.8m Planes leaving Stansted airport were delayed by 25 minutes on average in 2018, an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data [...]