Big brands doing big deals show the UK sports sponsorship industry remains in rude health January 14, 2019 January is typically the time to look forward, to forecast and predict what will happen in the coming year. To understand the state of the UK sponsorship industry, however, it’s more worthwhile to look at what happened in the months leading up to Christmas. Rewind to the week after Black Friday in December and big [...]
Saracens’ Premiership points deduction leaves the Champions Cup wide open for challengers November 14, 2019 Saracens’ 35-point deduction for breaching Premiership salary cap rules has dominated the news in recent weeks and I think it will have a big knock-on effect in the Champions Cup, which starts this weekend. After Sarries’ impressive away win at Gloucester at the weekend, head coach Mark McCall said that he would prioritise league games [...]
Live sport: How, when and where to watch all the best action on TV this Christmas December 20, 2019 It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you are a sports fan with endless live action to get stuck into. Here City A.M. details the biggest and best events over the festive period and how to watch them. Scroll down for a full list. Football It all gets underway this Saturday as Arsenal [...]
Ollie Phillips: England’s World Cup hopefuls face baptism of fire in Cardiff against Wales August 15, 2019 Eddie Jones is keen to have a good look at new recruits in the warm-ups ahead of the World Cup, and after missing out last weekend through injury, what a baptism of fire it will be for Ruaridh McConnochie in Cardiff on Saturday. Barring glaring omissions in Danny Cipriani and Alex Goode, Jones has committed [...]
In memoriam: Ian Taylor 1946-2020 January 16, 2021 Ian Taylor, who died in June of last year, ran Vitol for two decades. He was well-liked in the City not just for his business acumen, but for his philanthropy – which, it was revealed last week, continued after his death. Bloomberg reported he left £1m to the Royal Opera House and significantly more than [...]
World Para Athletics Championships 2019: Is parasport the sponsorship industry’s best kept secret? November 10, 2019 The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships is currently being held at the new stadium of the Dubai Club for People of Determination – a fitting name for what will be the climax of the para athletics season. The championships are also the last major opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, so it’s [...]
Ollie Phillips: Eddie Jones is being decisive with England World Cup squad but his intensity could backfire August 8, 2019 Eddie Jones’s decision to name his World Cup squad almost four weeks before the official deadline is one typical of the England head coach. On one hand it’s unnecessary because he’ll almost certainly have to make changes to the 31 names he announces on Monday due to injuries sustained in the warm-up matches and training [...]
Six Nations organisers had no choice but to postpone Italy v England over coronavirus but Saracens’ handling of Vunipola is ill-considered March 5, 2020 Coronavirus is all over the news at the moment and rugby is no exception after it emerged that England’s final Six Nations game against Italy had been postponed as a precaution. It is a shame for the tournament, which has been bubbling up nicely ahead of its conclusion next weekend, but organisers really had no [...]
Eddie Jones takes gamble with squad selection but how does England’s cap count compare to rivals? September 10, 2019 Since taking charge of England in 2015, Eddie Jones has been working towards victory in the now-imminent World Cup. Everything he has done over the past four years has been with lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in mind. Yet at the 11th hour he has gambled, opting to sacrifice experience within the squad for talented [...]
Six Nations: Ireland’s Andy Farrell could learn something from France’s fresh approach under Fabien Galthie February 27, 2020 Watching last weekend’s Six Nations games I was struck by a huge contrast between two of the teams on display. Once again France provided the highlight of the weekend, beating Wales 27-23 in a thrilling contest in Cardiff which kept the youthful visitors’ Grand Slam hopes alive. On Sunday it was a different story, as [...]