Is a franchise model the only way to save rugby union? June 15, 2025 Despite various approaches to the same question as to whether rugby can find a stable commercial footing, various rugby factions seem to be coming to the same conclusion: are franchises the answer? Franchise sport can be hit and miss; in the US NFL and NBA franchises are seeing valuations north of $5bn. In the Indian [...]
US Open prize money 2025: Golf’s most lucrative major freezes payouts June 13, 2025 Organisers of this week’s US Open, the third men’s golf major of the year, have taken the unusual step of not increasing prize money for 2025. But before you reach for a tiny violin, it’s worth remembering that the US Open remains the most lucrative of the four majors with total prize money of $21.5 [...]
Florian Wirtz: Liverpool agree British record transfer fee of £116m June 13, 2025 Liverpool have agreed the signing of Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz for a potential British record transfer fee of £116m. The Premier League champions will pay Bayer Leverkusen a minimum of £100m for the 22-year-old but that amount could increase to £116m if Wirtz meets certain performance targets. If Liverpool pay the maximum amount it would [...]
Airbnb gets into bed with Fifa with last-minute Club World Cup deal June 13, 2025 Fifa has signed up Airbnb as a last-minute commercial partner for the Club World Cup, which starts tomorrow in the US. Airbnb will offer “official fan accommodation” as part of a three-year deal with Fifa that also includes next summer’s men’s World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, and the 2027 [...]
Johnson-backed Grand Slam Track cancels remainder of season June 13, 2025 Grand Slam Track, the privately backed track and field circuit fronted by former Olympian Michael Johnson, has cancelled its final event. Having hosted events in Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia, the final leg in Los Angeles was cancelled on Thursday. The competition offered $100,000 to winners at each event in a bid to raise the profile [...]
Does the Women’s Super League need a salary cap or other cost controls? June 13, 2025 Does the Women’s Super League need a salary cap? That was the question posed this week by no less an authority than Deloitte’s Sports Business Group upon the release of its 34th Annual Review of Football Finance. The report contained plenty of positive updates on the finances of WSL teams: aggregate revenue grew 36 per [...]
Footballers’ union calls for safeguards that threaten Club World Cup June 12, 2025 Global footballers’ union Fifpro has issued a set of 12 recommended minimum protections designed to safeguard players’ physical and mental health from the sport’s increasing workload. The recommendations – which include a “blackout” period of at least two weeks in which players have no contact with their club or national team – are the result [...]
Wimbledon expansion: Key judicial review set for during grand slam June 12, 2025 Wimbledon will face a crunch judicial review on their plans to expand their Championships tennis site during this year’s grand slam. Speaking ahead of this year’s SW19 tournament, which gets underway on 30 June, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans said the Greater London Authority decision to grant planning permission to [...]
Five Surrey Scorchers basketball players banned over match-fixing ring June 12, 2025 Five former Surrey Scorchers players have been banned after being found guilty of operating a “match-fixing ring” in British basketball’s top division. Quincy Taylor, Charleston Dobbs, Shakem Johnson and Padiet Wang were all given life bans, while Joshua McFolley was handed a 10-year suspension. The men, all US nationals, were charged with fixing at least [...]
How to earn £15,000 during Queen’s and Wimbledon Championships June 12, 2025 Walk out of Barons Court tube station – via your preferred District or Piccadilly line train – turn right and within 100 yards you’ll see the HSBC red colour scheme branded across a sign that welcomes you to Queen’s Club. Because this and next week, in the leafy London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the [...]