Fifa Club World Cup: Will European teams make it 10 in a row? And when is the competition expanding to 32 teams? February 1, 2023 The dust has barely settled on Qatar 2022 and already the next Fifa jamboree, the Club World Cup, is about to begin in another destination with big hosting ambitions. Chelsea won last year in Abu Dhabi but won’t be defending their title in Morocco over the next 10 days, since they didn’t qualify via the [...]
Ed Warner: VAR cock-ups are hastening the inevitable arrival of AI referees October 12, 2023 How long until a match is refereed entirely by AI, following the latest Premier League VAR blunders?
Euro 2020 rainbow row: Hungarian prime minister backs out of attending tonight’s match June 23, 2021 Hungarian prime minster Viktor Orbán will no longer attend today’s Euro 2020 match between Hungary and Germany in Munich. This follows a row over lighting Munich’s stadium in rainbow colours to protest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in Hungary last week. Yesterday, Uefa rejected a request from Munich city council and LGBTQ+ activists to light the Allianz [...]
Sport is guilty of shutting its eyes to Russia’s geopolitical ambitions February 27, 2022 Roman Abramovich’s near 20-year ownership of Premier League club Chelsea has been shrouded in mystery and therefore subject to constant scrutiny and speculation. Indeed, until the weekend, it remained unclear why he is there and what he is seeking to achieve. The oligarch has denied having direct links with Vladimir Putin but has been seen [...]
England footballers hailed as heroes after devastating Euro 2020 penalties defeat July 12, 2021 England footballers have been hailed as heroes who should be “so proud” of themselves for their efforts in a historic Euros campaign which ended in defeat after a nail-biting penalty shootout. Fans were left devastated when the nation’s dreams of being crowned champions of Europe in front of a home crowd at Wembley Stadium were [...]
Christian Eriksen in stable condition in hospital after collapsing during Denmark Euro 2020 match against Finland June 12, 2021 Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen is in a stable condition in hospital after collapsing during the Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday. Eriksen received CPR on the field in Copenhagen after falling to the ground as he chased the ball. The goalless opening match of Group B was suspended for two hours, before resuming later [...]
It will be an irony if football kills off Nations League in name of progress October 11, 2021 With a furiously contested Kylian Mbappe goal, the 2020-21 Uefa Nations League drew to a breathless and controversial conclusion on Sunday night in Milan. What wasn’t in question, however, was that, after two cycles, the tournament has proved to be an overwhelming success. Not too many people saw that coming, given the distinctly tepid reception [...]
European Club Association boss Al-Khelaifi promises loan fund for clubs hit by pandemic, Financial Fair Play shake-up and Uefa joint venture September 6, 2021 Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of the European Club Association, has outlined a series of measures that he says will bring “urgent financial stability” to the game across the continent. Al-Khelaifi, also the president of Paris Saint-Germain and chairman of the beIN Media Group, promised a multi-billion Euro loan facility and new Financial Fair Play rules [...]
Sport sponsorship: Forecasting the impact of the big events in 2022 January 2, 2022 Six months on from wading through the smashed bottles and broken dreams that littered Wembley Way after the calamitous Euro 2020 final, sports fans and sponsors can look forward to an abundance of major global events in 2022. As it happens, this year has been designated the United Nations International Year of Glass, so it’s [...]
Fifa biennial World Cup claims questioned by sport industry experts December 21, 2021 Leading figures in sports marketing have questioned Fifa’s claim that switching to biennial men’s World Cups would drive a huge revenue increase. Football’s world governing body revived the argument to stage its showpiece more regularly on Monday by presenting research that estimated the change would boost income by 60 per cent over the first four [...]