Italy Pirlo hire off after Russian betting firm links revealed July 27, 2026 Italy’s plans to name Andrea Pirlo manager of their national football team have been scrapped after his links with a Russian betting firm were criticised by politicians. Pirlo, the 47-year-old manager of Dubai United, has been a global ambassador for Fonbet since October and was all but confirmed for the Italy job despite no official [...]
Beat Luke Littler: Netflix enters live darts with £500,000 showcase July 27, 2026 Netflix is entering live darts for the first time with a new show challenging members of the public to take on world champion Luke Littler. Beat Luke Littler will pit 20 amateur arrows fans against the teenage prodigy for a chance to win £501,000 – if they can beat him in a single leg. “Everyone [...]
Fifa boss Infantino: World Cup critics are ‘consumed with hate’ July 27, 2026 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has launched a broadside at critics of some aspects of the 2026 World Cup, branding them “consumed by hate”. The tournament, which concluded eight days ago, has been broadly hailed as a success but was punctuated by outrage at President Trump’s apparent intervention in the Folarin Balogun incident, sky-high ticket prices [...]
Inside the untapped commercial potential of the Tour de France July 26, 2026 The Tour de France is the most attended annual sporting event with over 12m people attending roadside every year for the historic three-week race. Its UK audience is growing too, with the 2026 broadcast attaining 41 per cent more viewers than the previous year. Despite that scale, many brands still underestimate the breadth of commercial [...]
Commonwealth Games: How ‘Commy G Lite’ is opportunity for smaller brands July 25, 2026 Is the smaller scale Commonwealth Games a chance for smaller brands to step up and take a bite out of the multi-sport flagship event action, asks sponsorship expert Sarah Niblock. A reduced price tag might look like they can, but more importantly, it’s essential that they consider if they actually should. The 23rd Commonwealth Games [...]
Crystal Palace stadium set for £130m revamp with 25,000 seats July 24, 2026 Plans for the £130m refurbishment of a major 25,000-capacity south London stadium in Crystal Palace have been given the green light. The planning application for the renovation of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre has been approved with the refurbishment set to feature a revamped swimming and diving pool, as well as a padel centre, [...]
West Ham United London Stadium deal costing taxpayers £19m a year July 24, 2026 The London Stadium deal between West Ham United and City Hall costs taxpayers £19m a year, the stadium company’s chair has revealed. A deal signed in 2013 between then Mayor of London Boris Johnson and bigwigs at the Hammers sees the former Premier League side pay £4.6m in rent per year, dropping this season due [...]
Saracens and Harlequins embracing athletics and hockey smart move for rugby July 24, 2026 Despite this weekend appearing to be the first in an eternity without top-flight rugby, the reality is that across England we have never had so little of it. Take Harlequins or Saracens, the two Prem Rugby clubs in London, and recent fixture announcements lay bare the underlying reason as to why so many teams make [...]
Sport documentaries muddle grey area of storytelling vs reality July 23, 2026 As every sport seemingly gets its own documentary, Matt Readman assesses whether they’re meddling with reality. There is a famous rule in nature documentary filmmaking: observe, but never intervene. The moment the camera changes the behaviour of its subject, it stops documenting reality and starts creating it. Earlier this month the International Cricket Council investigated [...]
The Rest Is… for the Treasury: Gary Lineker backs wealth tax for rich July 23, 2026 Gary Lineker has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a wealth tax on himself and other millionaires. The former England football player, synonymous with crisps, is one of over 100 millionaires to sign an open letter to No 10 calling for a 2 per cent tax hike on people with assets worth at least [...]